Ash's Secret Love Affair
by PokeBoys
Summary: Ash Ketchums dream was always to become the worlds greatest Pokemon Master. He never knew once he participated in the Pokemon League, his life would drastically change forever. A new friend he grows close to turns his life upside down, in both good and bad ways. He discovers sides of himself he never knew were there. And learns life can be both cruel and beautiful at the same time.
1. Chapter 1

Ash's Secret Love Affair

**First off, I should say this story is not going to be a quick PokeFanfiction story. Where the characters meet, and feelings develop in one chapter, I believe it makes for a better story if you get a feeling of how our boys develop these feelings. Of course it won't be a boring, drawn out thing. It just gives the story depth… So please enjoy!**

Our story begins when Ash was competing in the Pokémon League, so it is quite far back from where he is now, but I feel, for my interpretation of how this story should have happened, this is a perfect starting place for us. Let's begin..

As Ash approached the terminal to register his pokedex he was feeling nervous, he had never competed in a competition quite this large. He knew everyone from Pallet Town would be watching him, he knew he could not let them down. He could not lose, he was scared of how let down everyone would be, especially his mother. Although Ash always looked confident, deep down he was in fact quite insecure, he didn't know if he could win this competition, he glanced to Pikachu and noticed he was watching him. Ash gave him a smile, there was something about Pikachu that has always affected Ash, as soon as Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulders that day to save him from the Spearow, he felt something more than a simple trainer – Pokémon bond with Pikachu was born, from that day Pikachu, by simply looking at Ash, could pull him from these moments of insecurity.  
"May I see your pokedex please?" asked the lady as they approached the terminal, snapping Ash back from his thoughts  
"Uh sure! Here you go!" Ash said as he handed over his pokedex.

As the lady began scanning his pokedex Ash glanced around the room, to him it felt he was being watched, Misty and Brock were standing beside him and Pikachu was on his shoulder so it wasn't them. After scanning the room Ash decided it was just his nerves, so he looked back at the terminal to see the lady finishing his registration.  
"Here you go Ash, your registration is complete. Your first match will be in the Water Field at 3. Don't be late!" explained the lady behind the desk cheerfully.  
Ash had a sudden urge to go exploring and grabbed his Pokedex, and ran off in no specific direction, not watching where he was going, ran directly into another trainer.

"Hey! Watch where your going..!" came a very familiar voice  
Ash looked up and recognised the boys face instantly, "Gary! What are you doing here!"  
"To win of course, but you wouldn't know anything about that would you Ashy boy" came Gary's reply

Gary had always been that one step ahead of Ash in every aspect of being a Pokémon Trainer. There was something about him that, every time Ash saw him, would make ash angry, but there was always something else deep inside ash that made him feel strange when he saw Gary, something he never really thought about. He only ever felt it with a few people in his life. Although Gary made me angry at times, he was always secretly excited to see him, though he would not admit it to himself.  
"Out of my way, loser" Gary said as he pushed past Ash,  
Ash always tried but he never could come up with anything to say to him when he pushed Ash around, so once again he let Gary walk over him.

Ash just sat there feeling confused at why he lets Gary treat him that way when Misty and Brock finally caught up to him and helped him up,  
"Hey forget about Gary, lets go get something to eat" offered Brock. Brock always had a way of making Ash feel normal again, from the moment they met Ash always felt calm around him, he was like the big brother he never had. He guessed it was the fact Brock has so many brothers and sisters that he can't help but look out for Ash, which Ash liked, it made his feel safe knowing Brock would always be there looking out for him.

As they entered the nearest restaurant, they sat at a booth by the window, Brock of course was already talking to the waitress, and so it was just Ash and Misty at the table.  
"I don't know what I want," said Ash glancing at the menu. Once again Ash felt like someone was watching him, but he could not put a finger on it, so he decided to just order his food and forget about it once again. Although across to the other side of the room, there was, in fact someone watching him, with great curiosity.

"Man that food was great!" Ash exclaimed as he walked out of the restaurant.  
"Do you want to go find out where we will be staying?" Asked Misty.  
"That's a good idea, I'm exhausted" said Brock. So the three made their way to the nearest cabin.

The cabin was nice; it reminded Ash of home, which comforted him, knowing there was some place he could go to if he was feeling scared or nervous. As they walked through, admiring the main room, Brock headed over to the counter to see if there was a vacancy. Moments later, Ash was pushed back into Misty by a trainer hurrying in the opposite direction.

"I'm so sorry!" exclaimed the brunette boy as he hurried to pick up his books and poke balls.  
"That's fine! Really, it's okay, let me help you" Ash offered as he bent down to help the boy pick up his things. Ash was gathering up the remainders of his books as his hand gently brushed the back of the other boys hand, almost instantly, a strange spark went straight through Ash's hand and he jerked his hand back quickly, not knowing what he just felt, or if he offended the boy. He looked up to see if the other boy had a similar reaction and noticed that he was looking right into his eyes. The first thing Ash noticed was the boy's blue eyes, he didn't know why, but he just wanted to keep looking at them, they were so clear and so big.

The boy quickly looked away and muttered nervously  
"uh.. Thank you.. Ash," he then hurried off.  
"Well, that was a bit strange. Did you know him Ash?" Asked Misty.  
"No I have never met him before, how did he know my name?" replied a very confused Ash as he got to his feet.  
"No idea, was he from Pallet Town?" asked Misty."Nope, I've never seen him before" Ash replied, so many thoughts were going through his head. Who was that boy? How did he know his name? What was that strange feeling that ran though his hand the moment they touched? Ash then noticed on the ground, the boy had forgotten one of his poke balls before he hurried off.  
"Oh no! That boy forgot his poke ball!" Ash exclaimed looking around for the boy, but finding he was already gone.  
"Well maybe we should give it to Officer Jenny then" said Misty.  
"No! I want to find him, so I could give it to him" said Ash quickly, he wanted to find out the boy's name, to figure out what that feeling he felt was, and to see why he felt that way around him.  
"Well how are you going to find him then?" asked Misty, feeling slightly confused.  
"Well it's too late now, I'll go out early tomorrow morning looking for him, I'm sure he will be around here somewhere!" Ash explained quickly.  
"Well, were all checked in. Let's go find our room" came Brock's cheery voice as he returned from the desk.

They eventually located their room and found it to be quite comfortable, the beds were large, they each had their own wardrobes, and it had a wonderful view of the streets. To Ash, it felt like home. He put away his things and placed the photograph of his mother and himself on his bedside drawers and crawled up onto his bed staring at it. He felt worried and nervous, but he had to be a man now, everyone expected it of him. Then came the thoughts of the boy again, all he could remember was those eyes; there was something about those bright blue eyes he could not forget. Ash glanced at the boy's Pokeball to make sure it was still there; he needed a reason to find this boy again. He needed to know his name.

**Well I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this story, I promise you there will be some real emotional stuff in the near future, but like I said, this was just a foothold on starting the story. I would really appreciate it if any of you would let me know what you think so far though! I would love to know if I'm on the right step here as this is my first story I've ever written. Email me any comments, ideas, characters you would like to see, all that jazz at FanFictionStories . Thanks a lot!**

**Oh and by the way, in the future I may bring in a few characters that Ash had not yet actually met in the anime at that point in time. I shall explain how they met in this story as to stop confusion. It will only be a couple of characters though! **


	2. Chapter 2

Ash's Secret Love Affair

Chapter Two

The night was cold, and Ash did not get much sleep, he never got much sleep really, his thoughts keep him awake for most nights. He turned to his side and glanced at his clock, 1:28am it read. Frustrated, Ash got out of bed and decided he might as well go for a walk, he put on his new black and blue jumper his mum had bought him before he left on his travels, it smelt like her, the thought made Ash shiver, although not from the cold. He missed her, he wondered if she was proud of him, he thought about ringing her tomorrow, but decided against it, he had to be a man, he needed to prove that he could do this on his own. So Ash walked through the streets, the lights were pretty, they had a bright glow they made the streets shimmer, it was almost magical. There was no one outside, everyone was asleep, where they should be. Ash decided to sit on a swing in a park he found nearby, he rocked gently, almost rhythmically while he kept to his thoughts. He trusted Pikachu, he was his best friend, he knew he could count on him to do his best for him, as well as everyone else. Before Ash even realised an hour had past, he found himself dozing off on the swing set, so he headed back to the cabin, lucky he had not wondered far, or he may have just gotten lost. The bed welcomed Ash and he drifted off in to a deep sleep fairly quickly.

The alarm sounded off at 8am, although Ash had not had much sleep, he was used to it, he spent many nights lying awake, having much to think about. So he went about his regular routine, brushing his teeth, putting on his favourate blue and white coat to go with his faded jeans. He tried to comb his hair, but found it would just go back to the playfully messy style it always did. He looked at himself in the mirror, seeing his flaws, to him there were many that he found he could not change, how he was short, Gary always picked on him for that, the fact he was a bit taller then Ash, he pointed that out many times in his childhood, it made Ash feel small. Ash brushed off this moment of insecurity and remembered he was going to try and find the boy who left his Pokeball behind yesterday, so he grabbed the Pokeball and his own set and went to head out that door  
"Where are you going Ash? You haven't even had breakfast yet" came a sleepy Misty's question  
"No time Mist, that boy is probably worried sick about his Pokeball he left behind!" replied Ash as he hurried out the door.  
Misty thought this was strange, Ash never missed breakfast, or any meal of the day, she wondered what was bothering him, and what kept him up so late last night.

Even at eight o'clock in the morning, the streets were full of trainers and traders of all sorts. He had never been in a place with so many Pokemon and their trainers, it made him feel small inside, and wished he had waited for Brock to wake up so he would be there making sure Ash didn't get trampled. He was outside now and he had a job to do, find the boy, something inside of him was telling him he needed to find him.  
"Ash Ketchum, calling Ash Ketchum, please make your way to the Water Field, your match will begin in ten minutes" came a voice from the speakers on the corner. In Ash's determination to find this boy, he realised he was not keeping track of the time, and that his match starts very soon. So he decided to keep looking for the boy later, and hurried off towards the Water Field.

Ash stood in wait as the battle before his was finishing up.  
"We have a winner!" called out the announcer  
"We're up.. next" Ash muttered to himself, trying to calm his nerves. This was it, the moment were everyone from home would be watching, hundreds of people would be in the stands watching his every move.  
"Ash, your shaking" Misty said, trying to calm Ash down  
"That's not me, that's the stadium shaking" Ash replied back  
The doors opened, the light flooded in, along with the screaming crowd. Ash thought he was going to be sick, he had a moment in his mind, he couldn't do this, he was going to lose, and his mother would be so disappointed, he took a deep breathe in and set his mind set on one thing, winning. In that moment he knew he could actually do it, he trusted his Pokemon, and they trusted him  
"Well, ready Pikachu" Ash said  
"Pika" Pikachu replied, nodding his head.  
And with that the two walked out onto the stadium grounds. A surge of adrenaline rushed through Ash, he felt it. It empowered him to win, it was his addiction.  
Ash's opponent released an Eggecutor while Ash released his own Krabby. Even thought Ash hadn't battled with his Krabby he knew he could do it. The battle was intense and had Krabby spiring in a whirlpool, Ash felt worried, but as it looked bad Krabby leaped out of the water as Ash yelled  
"Krabby, use your crabhammer attack!" With that Eggecutor fell, and Ash only had two Pokemon left to defeat. Out of no where, Ash's Krabby began evolving into a Kingler, Ash could not be any happier, all fear had left him and he knew he could do it. Ash's opponent released a Seadra and Ash found it hard to make a hit, while it was using it's agility, until Seadra over turned and flipped directly over Kingler's bubble attack  
"Kingler use crabhammer attack!" Ash yelled out, and with that Ash defeated the second Pokemon of his opponent. Golbat was Ash's final combatant,  
"Kingler, dive underwater" Ash yelled, and with that a series of attacks were made, with Golbat flying down to tackle Kingler and Kingler flying out of the water to use his vicegrip on Golbat, but Golbat was able to slip out of his grip and knock Kingler down with his razor wind attack. As the final moments of the match were coming, Golbat prepared to use it's mega drain on Kingler, but Ash reacted fast enough,  
"Kingler, use hyper beam!", and with that Kingler had a direct hit on the Golbat, ending the match and winning it for Ash. Ash was beside himself, he was speechless, he never knew he could actually do it. Ash walked out of the stadium with a mix of emotions, he was thinking about his mother, and if she was proud of him. He headed to the Pokemon centre to give Kingler a good rest.

By this point Ash had won all four matches, he was feeling much better than before he had begun, and decided it was best to return to their cabin to rest up before having dinner, Ash felt proud of himself, he doubted himself in the beginning, and now look where he was, soon to compete in the big battles, he was close to achieving his goal. In all this excitement, Ash had completely forgotten about the boy and his Pokeball he left behind. As they approached the cabins there were two figures standing outside of his room, as they got closer Ash recognised them and nearly fell to his knees in happiness, it was his mother and Professor Oak, he ran to them and gave his mother quite a long hug, he missed her, and he needed her to know how much he loved her. She returned the hug and kneeled down to face her son,  
"I knew you could do it Ash, I am so proud of you, I have been watching every single one of your battles and I want you to know how proud I am of my little man" praised Deliah  
"Mum, I missed you so much. I love you" Ash answered her, fighting back the tears he knew would come later,  
"I know sweetie, I know" her calm voice could always relax Ash without fail, it made him feel safest, when he was with her.  
"Well I don't know about you guys, but we're pretty hungry, lets go get some dinner" proposed Oak  
"Yeah we're starving" answered Misty. So they headed for the hotel nearby to find somewhere nice to eat,  
"I've heard this place is good, its at the top floor" Brock suggested as they entered the elevator,  
"Please hold the door!" yelled a boy running from behind them, Professor Oak held it open for him to enter the elevator with him,  
"Thank you so much, I was afraid I would have to wait for the next one!" laughed the boy, Ash watched him and thought he looked very familiar but could not put a finger on it, until the boy turned to face Ash, and he saw those eyes, those crystal clear blue eyes, and Ash knew exactly who he was,  
"Hey! Your the boy that ran into me the other day!" Ash exclaimed,  
"Oh yeah, sorry about that.." replied the boy, looking embarrassed,  
"Oh it's fine! It's just you left this behind" said Ash, bringing the boy's Pokeball out from his backpack, the boy's eyes lit up, and a smile Ash will never forget spread across his lips,  
"You found my Pokeball!" exclaimed the boy as he reached across to take it back, the moment their hands touched for the second time Ash felt that familiar spark fly through his hand once again, but this time he did not jerk it back, he just smiled and found he enjoyed the feeling. He looked up and studied the boys face, seeing that smile made him smile too.

The next moment Ash will never forget, in his entire life. The elevator came to a sudden stop, causing everyone to fall and collapse onto one another in all sorts of awkward places. Ash fell, and landed directly on top of the boy who had fallen instantly to the elevator stopping, Ash looked up and found he was at eye level with the boy, in that moment the world around him seemed to slow down, all he could do was stare into those eyes, those bright blue eyes, that seem to be able to pierce into his very soul, he could not look away, his hands were resting by the boys head and he did not remotely notice that his body was resting on top of the other boys body. Ash studied every little thing on the boys face for what seemed like an eternity, the way his hair was kept in his own messy fashion that seemed to suit him very well, the way his skin looked the perfect tan, and how warm he felt against the other boy, it was slightly relaxing. Another thing Ash came to realise was the boy was actually looking at him as well, as if he were studying Ash too. Ash suddenly became aware of his situation, he was lying on top of a boy, who he only met twice, once was being knocked over by him, and he did not even know his name yet. He decided it may look a little weird to the others, and felt a flush of embarrassment run to his cheeks. Ash decided, regrettably it was best to get up off him. Brock helped Ash get to his feet while the other boy got up and dusted himself off, he then looked up at Ash as if trying to figure out what just happened between them. Ash found for the first time since meeting him, he could not actually look at him, he still felt embarrassed by what just happened, he was confused as to why he enjoyed it so much, he forced himself to look up and found the boy still looking at him, Ash didn't know what to say, he wanted to apologise, but at the same time he didn't,  
"I guess we're stuck here until someone restores the electricity" announced Oak, pulling Ash from his thoughts,  
"What! Oh no!" exclaimed Misty, Brock then noticed the boy was playing around with the wires in the elevator, to which Ash noticed as well,  
"Excuse me, uh could i please borrow your Pikachu for a second?" Asked the boy, Ash instantly froze up, he was talking to Ash, he found he could not find the words and what seemed like forever,  
"Uhh.. Yeah, what for" Ash managed to stammer out,  
"I want to use Pikachu's thundershock to jump start the elevator, that should get us to the lobby" replied the boy, Ash thought this boy was quite amazing, to which he found confusing as to why he thought that  
"Say there, you've got an interesting idea, let's try it Ash" said Oak  
"Uh okay, Pikachu thundershock" Ash said as he knelt down to the boys level, once again he found himself staring into the boys concentrated face, he found he enjoyed looking at him while he worked. The lights then came back on and the elevator began moving again, to their delight.

The elevator made it to the lobby and the doors opened, Misty was the first out,  
"We made it!" She exclaimed,  
"Well i'm glad we held the door for you!" Brock laughed, Ash was thinking the same thing to himself  
"Don't thank me, thank Pikachu" the boy said modestly,  
Ash decided he had to know his name, it was killing him knowing he may walk away any second and he may never see him again, which confused the hell out of him as to why that worried him so much,  
"Uh thank you, um, your name.." stuttered Ash,  
The boy giggled, "Oh yeah, my names Ritchie" he smiled,  
"Well my names Ash, nice to meet you" Ash replied, smiling back at him  
"Well I got to go, seeya!" replied Ritchie  
"Bye!" replied Ash, he was feeling so many emotions and thoughts right now, this boy, Ritchie, who he had just met, had made him feel strange and unusual, he knew he had to see him again and hoped he would run into him.

"Attention please, may I have your attention please" an announcement broke Ash from his thoughts,  
"This is an emergency announcement for all participants in the Pokemon League competition, all trainers must bring their Pokeballs to the Pokemon Pavilion for official inspection immediately"  
"We better go find out what this is about" Ash said as he hurried off

**Well, there's chapter 2 for you, see! I told you it would get more emotional as it went along :) I'd like to say I feel like the story is starting to develop some proper character relations. So I hope you stick with me as the story develops! As always, feel free to email me any comments, idead, characters you want to see, all that stuff at fanfictionstories thank you for your time, as always. Have a great day.**


	3. Chapter 3

Ash's Secret Lova Affair

Chapter Three

Ash wondered through the crowd at the Pokemon Pavilion, not knowing why he was here, as did many other trainers.  
He looked around, searching, and hoping to find one individual until he spotted him,  
Ritchie, standing across from him looking as confused as he did, the sight of Ritchie made Ash feel more excited than he has in a long time,  
"Hey! Ritchie!" Ash yelled out,  
Ritchie turned his head and a wide grin spread across his face as he rushed over,  
"Hey Ash! How's it going?" asked Ritchie,  
"I didn't know if you'd be here! Glad to see you! Guess that means your in the Pokemon League too?" Ash asked,  
"Yeah!" Ritchie answered, it looked to Ash as if Ritchie was about to ask something but could not quite get it out,  
Ash suddenly felt extremely nervous, what if he was going to ask what happened in the elevator,  
What if Ritchie thought that he was strange and didn't want to see him again!  
But before Ritchie could say anything, the two announcers began speaking.

"We must now collect all your Pokemon for the required physical examination,  
please deposit all your Pokeballs in the bag held by this official looking man with a moustache"  
"Somethings kinda weird" Ash thought,  
"Nobody said anything about a Pokemon exam to me" Ritchie said,  
As the examiners began collecting all the Pokeballs, Ash thought they looked a bit strange, until the male said,  
"Look Jessie! We finally got Pikachu!"  
"Did you say Jessie?!" Exclaimed Ash,  
What happened next Ash had seen many times, Team Rocket began singing their stupid theme song Ash was thinking.  
"Give us back our Pokeballs!" Ritchie demanded,  
"We'll give them back, after we remove your Pokemon!"  
Team Rocket laughed, they then began to drive away. Ash had been through this situation many times,  
But the fear that shot through him every time was like re opening an old wound,  
The thought that he might lose Pikachu was always the worst pain he had ever experienced,  
There were moments when he nearly did lose his best friend, he knew this would not be one of them and began running after the truck.  
Ash ran as fast as he could, past the gate entering the city, his determination to get back his best friend was what empowered him to keep running,

"Ash!" yelled out someone from behind him, Ash turned around and saw Ritchie was running after him,  
He felt something he had never experienced before, a feeling in the pit of his chest,  
The fact that Ritchie obviously cared for his Pokemon as much as he did made Ash want to hug him.  
As they approached a mountain side, they saw the truck driving on the road below,  
"We can't catch them on foot" Ash said  
"Unless we cut straight down the side of the mountain" Ritchie said sarcastically,  
Ash was in no mood for jokes and jumped straight down the side and ran for his life,  
They could not take his Pikachu away from him.  
Ritchie followed behind, trying to stop Ash from making it to the bottom,  
He knew Ash would end up hurting himself on this mountain side if he did not stop him, so he lept,  
And landed directly on top of Ash, they slid to a stop at the cliff's edge,  
This time Ash did not feel any wave of relaxation by the other boy laying on top of him,  
This time he was angry at Ritchie for stopping him, he pushed Ritchie off him and against the cliff side.

"If I didn't stop you, you would have run straight off the edge of the cliff" Ritchie defended himself,  
"No way!" Ash angrily yelled back at Ritchie,  
Although Ritchie's argument made sense Ash was, inside terrified that now he may have lost Pikachu forever,  
Ash felt hurt, and didn't know what to do, he had to find Pikachu, that's all he knew,  
"Come on" Ritchie said as he lead the way,  
Ash followed behind as they made their way climbing down the side of the cliff until they reached the bottom,  
They then ran as fast as they could, although Ash felt exhausted, he saw a shimmer in the distance through the trees,  
It was the van, he could see Team Rocket's van. This empowered him to sprint even faster,  
Until he and Ritchie bursted out of the bushes and stood in Team Rockets path, thinking they would stop Team Rocket,  
They instead drove straight down the mountain side to which Ash and Ritchie began running after them again.

Ash and Ritchie followed the Rocket's van to a stream, were the Rockets kept on driving down stream,  
Ash was physically exhausted but he kept on running, Ritchie just behind. At this time the sun had begun to set,  
And it was getting dark out, Ash was finding it hard to keep running, he felt as if his whole body was about to collapse,  
But the thought of Pikachu, locked away with those three kept him going,  
"Maybe Team Rockets just around the bend!" Ash said, trying to keep his spirits up, but he knew the chances of that,  
And knew he was close to having a breakdown. Ritchie was thinking a bit more clearly than Ash,  
"Why don't we quit for tonight and get some sleep Ash?" He offered  
"Look it's too dark now and if we get lost we will never be able to find Team Rocket"  
As much as Ash didn't want to quit, he knew that he was right,  
"I've got an extra sleeping bag with me, when you travel around as much as I do, you always carry an extra" Ritchie smiled gently,  
Ash was dumbfounded, he had treated Ritchie badly before by getting angry, even though Ritchie was just trying to help him,  
But he still wanted to look out for Ash, it made him want to cry. Ash had never experienced these feelings before,  
He had never gotten so emotional over someone helping him out, sure Brock always cooked for him,  
And Misty always shared her water bottle with him when he got thirsty, but he had never gotten emotional over them doing it,  
So why is it with Ritchie he did.

About an hour had past and they had set up a nice cozy camp, with a fire to keep them warm.  
As Ash looked into the flames, he couldn't help thinking how badly he had treated Ritchie,  
He just felt so emotionally confused he didn't know what to say, but he knew he had to say something,  
So, eventually he forced himself to speak,  
"Ritchie, i'm sorry I pushed you before. If it hadn't been for you knocking me down I would have run off that cliff for sure.. Anyway i'm sorry" Ash trailed off,  
Not bringing himself to look Ritchie in the eyes, even though he wanted too, so badly.  
Ritchie's eyes made him feel calm, he did not know why, they just did, but he needed to feel calm right now.  
"That's okay" Ritchie said, trying to make Ash feel a bit better,  
"But you outta be more careful too! You tried to stop Team Rocket by jumping in front of their van!" Ash said,  
As he looked up at his eyes and they locked eyes for a moment, he felt that connection again, and it relaxed him slightly  
"You did it too!" Laughed Ritchie,  
"Well when it comes to Pokemon I can get pretty crazy" sighed Ash,  
"I'm that way too" Ritchie smiled  
"I guess we're just a couple of Poke maniacs" Ash laughed to himself.  
They both looked up and once again locked eyes, Ash's smile faded away and this time he did get lost in his eyes,  
He didn't know how long they sat there staring at one another, but once they broke eye contact,  
They noticed the flames had dimmed a fair bit, and their dinner had been ready for a while now. Ash feel his cheeks blush.  
"Here, let's eat" Ritchie said as he handed Ash a can of food, Ash went to take a bite but had a thought,  
What if Pikachu wasn't being fed, and was sitting there, starving while Team Rocket stuffed their faces.  
The thought made Ash's stomach turn, and he started shaking, quite noticeably too,  
Ritchie looked up at him and watched him for a moment,  
"Ash, what's wrong?" Ritchie asked, genuinely concerned,  
Ash realised how obvious it was he was scared, and tried to stop shaking, but found he couldn't,  
"Do you think we will ever see our Pokemon again?" Ash asked, shakily,  
"I know we will Ash" Ritchie said confidently,  
"We will start looking again at sunrise tomorrow, I promise, I know we can find them"  
Ash looked up into his eyes and could see that Ritchie meant every word, it comforted him, he stopped shaking as much,  
"Yeah, we will" Ash sighed, as he began eating his food and looking into the fire,  
Ritchie sat there watching him, taking in how scared he was, he knew he had to find them, for Ash.

**Hey guys! So here's chapter 3, I hope you are enjoying my story! As you can see our characters friendships are growing, so like always, let me know what you think! at fanfictionstories send me a comment about my story, some ideas to make it better or characters you want to see, anything like that! Have a great day :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Ash's Secret Love Affair

Chapter Four

Ash had drifted off into a light sleep and was dreaming about Pikachu,  
He and Pikachu were running along the fields near his home, playing together like they used to.  
It was always so peaceful out there, in the warm sunlight, the cool breeze.  
They would sit out there all day together, it was one of Ash's favourate memories,  
The dream however, started to go bad, he turned and couldn't find Pikachu anywhere,  
He had disappeared from the fields where they were playing moments ago,  
When he looked up, he saw Pikachu, locked in a cage, with an expression on his face Ash could only describe as heart brake,  
Did Pikachu really think Ash abandoned him?  
The skies went dark, the clouds overtook the sky, and Pikachu continued to float higher and higher, til he was out of sight from Ash.  
Ash just sat there, cold and numb. Until a hand came down and helped him up off the ground,  
He looked up and Ritchie was smiling down at him, holding him close. Ritchie was warm, Ritchie was comforting him, Ash felt safe in his arms.  
Ritchie whispered in his ear,  
"No matter what happens, I will always be there, protecting you"  
Ash turned his body around to face Ritchie, and their eyes connected,  
Their faces moved towards each other, lips inches away,  
Thats when Ash awoke from his dream, it took him a moment to remember what happened in it,  
He blushed when he figured it out, he felt confused, what did it mean?

Ritchie giggled next to Ash, and he looked over to see what Ritchie was doing, he was still awake,  
Drawing pictures in the sky,  
"What are you doing?" Asked Ash,  
"Hmm? Oh okay, see what Pokemon you can see when you connect up the stars" said Ritchie, as he pointed to a few constellations  
"Uuh, it looks like.. An Onyx!" Exclaimed Ash  
"Yeah, now connect those two bright ones to the ones down over there" instructed Ritchie,  
"Wow! It's Pikachu!" Ash laughed in delight "I guess you think about Pokemon as much as I do"  
"Mhmm, Pokemon are amazing. I think about their different strengths and weaknesses so much that I even dream about them!" replied Ritchie,  
"Yeah?" Asked Ash,  
"Yep, and i'm going to be a great trainer" responder Ritchie with confidence, Ash laughed  
"Well i'm going to be the greatest Pokemon trainer on the entire planet" Ash said confidently  
"Entire planet?! It'll never happen.." Responded Ritchie, Ash felt slightly self conscious after he said that, thinking Ritchie made fun of him,  
"Cuz i'm going to be the greatest trainer in the entire galaxy!" Laughed Ritchie, Ash relaxed after he said that,  
"Best in the galaxy?! I'm going to be the best in the entire Universe!" replied Ash,  
Which caused them both to giggle at the little debate they shared. Not long after this both boys drifted off to a pleasant sleep,  
Ash's without any strange dreams.

Ash awoke the next morning feeling uncomfortable, sleeping in a sleeping bag that was not his own, he was not used to it,  
Thats when he noticed his hand was resting gently on top of Ritchie's hand. He went to pull away in fear Ritchie would wake up,  
Ash decided against it, and left his hand there.  
A little while longer Ritchie awoke to find Ash packing up their gear and cleaning out the fire.  
"Ash? You didn't have to do all that work, you should of woken me, I wanted to help" said Ritchie,  
"No way, you kept me calm last night and fed me and lent me your spare bed" replied Ash with a smile,  
Ritchie just watched him roll up the sleeping bag and smiled.  
"We better get going, it's getting pretty light out and we don't want Team Rocket waking up and getting away" Ash suggested,  
So Ritchie got out of his sleeping bag and helped finish up the little cleaning left to do,  
They then continued on walking in the direction they were heading last night.

"We've just got to find Team Rocket" Ash stated after they had been walking for a few minutes,  
"Hey! Look!" Ritchie shouted, up ahead were tire marks that went from the river into the trees,  
Ash's heart instantly sped up, Pikachu could be close.  
They began running down the tracks that the van left, into the bushes,  
Not much further ahead they came to an opening, it was Team Rocket!  
They were still asleep in their separate sleeping bags away from the van,  
"It's them!" Stated Ritchie,  
"But where are the Pokemon?!" Ash started to worry, Ritchie grabbed Ash's hand.  
"Their probably still in the van" Ritchie said, trying to calm Ash down.  
Both boys quietly tip toed out from their hiding place, and snuck over to the van as quietly as they could, as to not wake the Rocket Trio.  
They got to the van's back doors and snuck in, trying to see the back containing the Pokemon.  
"Hey! Pikachu!" Ash whispered as loud as he could,  
"Pika.." Came a muffled response from the corner of the van  
They boys heard it however and ran to the bag, Ash trying to rip open the bag as fast as he could,  
As he got it open, Pikachu jumped out and latched himself onto Ash, Ash nearly started crying right there and then,  
He managed to hold it together as he held Pikachu tight against his chest.  
He had Pikachu back, everything was going to be alright. Ash felt a hand rest on his shoulder,  
"See I promised we would get him back, didn't I" said Ritchie. Ash just smiled as he held onto Pikachu,  
"Alright let's grab the Pokeballs and go!" Said Ritchie, seconds later a shrill laugh was heard behind the boys  
"Look what just creeped into our campsite" Laughed Jessie  
"We're taking the Pokeballs!" Demanded Ash  
"The only thing your taking is a ride, Bye!" Smiled Meowth as the three slammed the doors shut behind them.  
Ash started ramming the doors, trying to bust them open, but to no use  
"We're locked in!" Ash exclaimed  
"There must be some way.." Ritchie collapsed onto the floor before he could finish his sentence,  
Team Rocket had accelerated the car and were on the road,  
"We gotta think of something, we need to stop the van" Ritchie said  
"Hey! Maybe our Pokemon can help!" Ash said as he looked through the Pokeballs  
"Oh no! I can't tell which ones are mine!" Ash exclaimed, being as there was over one hundred Pokeballs in the bag,  
"I found all my Pokeballs Ash!" Richie said,  
"No way! How can you tell?" Asked Ash, as he looked down at the Pokeballs,  
"I added these stars onto my Pokeballs so I can tell which ones are mine. Ash just looked at the boy,  
He couldn't believe someone could be so clever, yet so kind, momentarily forgetting they were in danger.  
"Mine must be here somewhere!" Ash pulled out a random Pokeball, "I choose you, Bulbasaur!"  
But unfortunately for Ash, a Drowsee appeared, "Return" as Ash pulled it back to its Pokeball,  
Ash tried many Pokeballs, but found none that were his, he was starting to get really scared,  
Meanwhile Pikachu was busy sniffing a few Pokeballs he found, and handed one to Ash to try,  
"You think this ones mine? Alright, go! Whoever you are!" Yelled Ash, and out came Bulbasaur!  
"Bulbasaur, tackle attack that wall!" Commanded Ash, nothing happened,  
"Uh try your razor leaf attack!" Once again, no good.  
Ash felt a hand on his chest,  
"Ash, let my Pokemon have a try, Go Zippo!" and to Ash's amazement, a Charmander appeared!  
"Zippo! Use Scratch!" Commanded Ritchie, as Zippo scratched the wall, it broke off,  
"Hey! This car is a rental!" Exclaimed Team Rocket,  
A battle ensued and Ritchie called out  
"Go! Sparky!" and to Ash's amazement, a Pikachu came out,  
The only difference Ash could see was that Sparky had a cute tuff of hair on its head, much likes Ritchie's,  
Ash watched from the side as Ritchie battled fiercely,  
He noticed Ritchie looked pretty cute when he was concentrating on something like a battle,  
How his hair would wave slightly as he moved,  
Ash then realised he should help him out too,  
"Pikachu use your agility as well!" To Arbok, it looked as if there were twenty Pikachu's  
"Ash! Let's attack them together!" Said Ritchie with a smile on his face  
"Okay! Pikachu, Sparky, use thunderbolt!" Then both chimed together.

The result ended with Team Rocket being thrown out of the vehicle by the explosion.  
Ash felt extremely happy as he was reunited with his Pikachu, but his happiness was short lived,  
"Ash wait! Look up ahead!" Yelled Ritchie, up ahead was the edge of the cliff,  
So Ash called out his Pidgeotto, and Ritchie called out his Butterfree, which he named Happy, which Ash thought was adorable.  
Ritchie had an idea, to use their Pokemon as their parachutes,  
As the car neared the edge, Ash grabbed his Pikachu and looked over to Ritchie, he had that concentrated look which Ash loved,  
In his day dreaming, he almost forgot to hold on to Pidgeotto.  
The car fell off the cliff, but the boys got out of it fairly fast, so they were safe,  
As they drifted down, Ash looked over to Ritchie, what he saw made his gasp.  
Ritchie was looking up at his Butterfree with a look of worry that made Ash's heart miss a beat,  
His hair was being tossed around that he could not keep his eyes open, as his hair would whip his eyes.  
Ash did not know why, but he could not look away, once again, even though they were facing immediate danger.  
The landing ended perfectly, and both boys got up to check their Pokemon.  
Once Ash saw they were all alright he turned to face Ritchie, who was looking right at him.  
Ritchie was just standing there, with a big grin on his face, Ash couldn't help himself,  
He collapsed into Ritchie and wrapped his arms around the boy and started sobbing,  
Ritchie was not expecting that, but returned the hug as tightly, he just held Ash for a while,  
While Ash let it out,  
"Thank you Ritchie, you saved me, I don't know how to thank you.. and you got Pikachu back to me..  
Just like you said you would" Ash stammered out in between his tears,  
"It's alright, we saved each other" Ritchie whispered into Ash's ear.

Even though Ash was crying, he still felt this moment was perfect, here he was, being held by this boy,  
Who for some reason, Ash could not get enough of.  
The way he fit so perfectly in Ritchie's arms made everything feel alright, Ritchie's warmth radiated onto Ash,  
It calmed him, until he was able to stop his tears.  
"Everything is going to be alright now" Promised Ritchie, and gave Ash one of his smiles.

"Hey Ash!" Came a voice from the distance  
"Are you guys okay?!" Came another voice  
"Yeah we're just fine!" Ash managed to yell, wiping away his tears.  
"And we got back everyones Pokemon!" Ritchie yelled

Both boys looked back to each other, deep down Ash knew this was something special,  
This moment he would remember forever.

As the cars rolled up, Misty, Brock, Deliah and Professor Oak all got out and ran up to the boys,  
Deliah was there first, she pulled Ash into her arms and started sobbing, which in turn made Ash start sobbing.  
"I was so worried about you" Cried Deliah,  
"Mum i'm okay" Ash tried to calm her down, he knew if she kept up, he would start up again.  
She eventually calmed down, giving everyone a chance to check up on Ash.

They were taken back to the main hall were they were able to return everyone's Pokeballs back to their trainers,  
Ash received much gratitude from all the trainers as they received their Pokemon back.  
Once the Pokeballs were all distributed Ash had a sudden thought, what happens now?  
I don't know what happened with me a Ritchie, is he going to leave?  
Ash needed some time to think, so he left everyone and went for a walk down to the park.  
Parks always had a way of making Ash feel relaxed, maybe it was the gentle breeze, or the trees  
Ash did not know, but he was glad it had that effect on him.  
Eventually Ritchie walked into the clearing and sat on the swing next to Ash,  
"There you are, everyone's been looking for you" said Ritchie,  
"Really? Oh okay, I didn't mean to worry anyone" Sighed Ash,  
"Ash, is everything okay?" Ritchie asked, he extended his arm and placed his hand on Ash's to try to comfort him.  
Ash's mouth went dry, he felt lost again, what does Ritchie mean by putting his hand on top of mine?  
These were all questions Ash wanted to ask him, but could not find the words.

"Excuse me? Have you both registered to the Battle Match Up System?" Asked a lady, bringing Ash back to reality,  
Ritchie immediately pulled his hand back off Ash's, obviously surprised as well.  
Ash noticed this, and he began to think Ritchie maybe felt embarrassed to be seen with him,  
"Ash..? You in there?" Ritchie giggled, "Have you registered yet?"  
"Uhh no I haven't" Ash managed to reply  
"Well come with me young man, you need to get registered as soon as you can" said the lady

So Ash returned to the main hall to register his next opponent, he felt pretty normal again,  
Though he was confused as to what 'normal' meant now.  
"Alright throw your rod in, whatever Magikarp you pull up will show your next opponent" said the lady cheerfully.  
As Ash threw in his line, he looked around and saw Brock and Misty standing beside him, smiling at him,  
Which made him feel happy,  
He then a tug at his line and pulled it up, his Magikarp had the numbers 'A-3' written on them  
"A-3, that means your next opponent is going to be.." announced the lady,  
As the display pulled up a picture of his next opponent, Ritchie's face appeared.  
Ash felt his body go cold, he felt numb, after this, nothing made sense.  
It had to be a mistake, he could not versus Ritchie. Not after everything we've have been through.  
The boys looked at each other, staring directly into each others eyes, this time Ash did not feel calm, he did not feel safe,  
He felt like he was going to collapse. But he held it together, just.  
He did not know what Ritchie was thinking, if he was feeling the same things as he was. They just stood there,  
For who knows how long, just staring at each other, he could not handle this.  
What if Ritchie lost and he won, would Ritchie hate him,  
What if Ritchie won and I lost!

**Oooooh! Well if you havent ****already figured it out. This story has been following the original story of how the two boys met, with some small adjustments of course. But within the next two chapters it moves away from the episodes and more into its own story stuff. But I hope you all stick with me for it! Like always send us a message if you liked it, or didnt like it, or had ideas, or characters you want to see! message me on here or at fanfictionstories at live . com have a great day! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Ash's Secret Love Affair

Chapter Five

Ash turned and walked, he didn't know where he was going, but he had to get away.  
He felt numb, this is the worst thing that could possibly happen to him.  
His newest friend, the one who he had saved his Pikachu.  
He had to versus Ritchie in the final battles of the Pokemon League.  
No one understood just how unfair this was, Ash did not even know if Ritchie was as upset as he was  
He did not know what was going on in his head, he came to the Pokemon League to win,  
But after going through so much with Ritchie, things felt different now,

Ash did not know where he was, or how long he had been walking,  
His feet ached so that told him he had been walking for a long time,  
He just had to get away, if he had to look at Ritchie one more time,  
He would have broken down for sure.  
Ash looked up, he was in the market square, lots of food, but he wasn't hungry.  
Over by the sidewalk there was a chair, Ash needed a seat. He was exhausted.  
He sat and watched the people for a while, every body had their own lives,  
Their own problems, he just felt his was the worst in the world.

After a while Ash decided he had been moping around the markets for too long,  
People were starting to get weirded out. So he got up and made for the nearest exit from the people.  
He thought maybe the park would get his mind off things, so he headed for the one nearest his cabin,  
"Hey, kid!" Came a voice from the distance Ash did not recognise,  
He looked up and around, he was walking on the sidewalk of one of the side streets so there wasn't many people around.  
Ash couldn't see anyone so he kept his head down and focused on the rock he was kicking along,  
"Hey! Is your name Ash?" Came the voice again,  
Okay, they know your name, Ash began to panic a little, he could not see this person calling his name,  
He tried pacing a little faster, that only brought footsteps. So he stopped, tried to relax and turned to face the person.  
It wasn't anything Ash expected, he expected gangsters, or bikers, or anything like that.  
There were only three boys, only a couple years older than he was, wearing clothes like he was, nothing to be afraid of,  
Ash actually laughed a little to himself, it felt good to laugh right now.  
"Uh are you alright? Is you name Ash?" The tallest one asked him,  
"Um, yeah that's me?" Replied Ash, feeling very confused.  
"Okay cool man, we saw some of your battles, you're really good!" The shorter one said  
"Oh! Uh thanks guys!" Replied Ash, trying to give them the best fake smile he could.  
"Yeah no worries dude, hey your not hanging out with anyone now? Oh you should come party with us man!  
Celebrate your victories!" Shouted the tall one, Ash took him to be the sort of 'leader' of the group.  
"We're going back to our cabin to party a little, to relax after all the stress of the competition,  
You know what I mean?" Asked the leader, giving Ash a smile.  
"Oh, are you guys Pokemon Trainers?" Asked Ash feeling a little bit more calmer  
"Yeah man, so what are you waiting for? Our place is just around the corner" Invited the leader,  
Extending his hand as an invitation to Ash. Ash did not know what to do, he felt confused,  
He knew it wasn't a good idea, but he was so sad and did not want to go back and face his friends.  
He also had in his mind they could hurt him, there were bigger than him, but they seemed really nice.  
"Helloo... Ash, come on dude, it'll be fun!" The leader said, patting Ash on the shoulder.  
Ash jerked back from his touch, he decided he did not want to go with the boys,  
He decided he wanted to go home.  
"Uh no thank you, I am just going to go home, i'm pretty tired" Said Ash backing away slowly,  
"What? Why man, you seem really tense, just come hang out for a little bit" Said the leader,  
As Ash turned to leave, his pathway was blocked by the third guy who hadn't said anything,  
He was cornered against the wall.  
Ash started to panic, he had no where to go, and no one knew where he was,  
The fear really set in when the leader reached out and grabbed Ash, pulling him towards him.  
Ash thought he was going to faint, he was terrified of the boys, he could barely push away one,  
But there were three of them, and they were all older. Ash just wished he could have told his  
Mum he loved her one more time.

That's when Ash was yanked to the side, the oldest boy who was holding onto Ash was thrown to the ground,  
Resulting in Ash being thrown in the opposite side. Ash could hear crashing of some sort, and a couple of swear words,  
He was so confused as to what was happening.  
He looked up and rubbed his eyes, he must be dreaming,  
In the middle of all three guys was Ritchie,  
He must of jumped straight into the group of guys and sent the eldest to his knees,  
As he was laying on the ground, trying to get back up.  
The other two were not sure if they should take on Ritchie, and try to help their older friend,  
Or to run away. They took another glance at the leader's crumpled body on the ground,  
And took off in the other direction.

Ritchie watched them leave with, the only way Ash could describe it, was fire in his eyes.  
He waited til they were clear out of sight and then bolted over to Ash,  
He looked him over and was thankful there were no injuries.  
"Ash, are you okay?" He asked quietly,  
Ash just looked at him, he couldn't tell what Ritchie was thinking,  
He didn't even know what was going through his head right then.  
"Ash, are you hurt?" Asked Ritchie a bit more firmly,  
"Uh, yeah i'm okay" Replied Ash, "Can you just help me get to my feet?"  
Ritchie put his arm around Ash's shoulder and lifted him up onto his feet,  
"I can do it" Said Ash, trying to walk on his own,  
The last thing he needed right now was for Ritchie to feel sorry for him,  
Ash tried but the moment he put pressure down on his foot, he collapsed into Ritchie's arms.  
"It's fine, let me help you at least get to a chair" Said Ritchie, as he pulled Ash back up,  
They headed for the park, and Ritchie put Ash down on the swing.  
"Thanks Ritchie" Said Ash. Ritchie just nodded, while looking at Ash from where he was sitting,  
Ash knew what he was going to ask him,  
"Ritchie, I didn't go with those guys, they pressured me into going with them,  
I didn't want to.. but I was so scared" Ash broke down,  
Feeling ashamed how much he had cried in front of Ritchie since they had met.  
"Ash.. It's okay, they were bigger than you, you couldn't have stopped them,  
I mean if I had stopped you from running off earlier.." Ritchie trailed off.  
Ash felt horrible, Ritchie believed this was his fault.  
"Ritchie, no this is not your fault, I wasn't even looking where I was walking,  
If I had been looking I wouldn't have walked down that street!" Exclaimed Ash,  
Trying to stop Ritchie from blaming himself.  
The next moment Ash did not expect,  
Ritchie got up and walked over to Ash and pulled him into quite a warm hug,  
Ash was surprised to say the least, but felt Ritchie's warmth radiating into his body,  
Which he sorely needed, it was quite cold out and he was not wearing his jacket.  
They stayed in that position for quite some time, until Ash pulled away,  
With tears in his eyes, he said,  
"I'm sorry Ritchie, I have to go home" And with that he ran off towards home.

Ash couldn't bear to be near Ritchie right now, the thought that Ritchie was blaming himself,  
And that Ritchie wanted to hug him, even though they had to battle off the next day,  
It was too much for Ash to comprehend. So he ran home as fast as he could,  
Lucky it was late, and Misty and Brock were already asleep.  
Even though it really was late, Ash couldn't sleep.  
He found himself sitting by the window, staring out into the city, looking into the park,  
"Why's my next match have to be against Ritchie," He muttered to himself  
"Everything happens to me!" He sighed.  
He eventually dozed off to sleep against the window sill, in the early hours of the morning.

The next morning was like any other morning, he woke up,  
Went and brushed his teeth, tried to comb his hair to no avail,  
Although he did feel a bit sore on his ribs, he told himself to ignore it,  
Once Misty and Broke awoke, they decided it's best to go get Ash's Pokemon checked up on before the big match.

Entering the Pokemon Centre Ash heard Nurse Joy speaking,  
"Good Luck!"  
"Thanks" Came the very familiar voice of Ritchie  
Ash stopped in his tracks, causing Misty and Brock to bump into him,  
At the same moment Ritchie turned and saw the three,  
"Oh, hi Ash" He said, while glancing at Misty and Brock,  
Ash shook his head slightly, as to tell him they did not know what happened last night  
"Uh, hi Ritchie.. Um, are you ready for the match" Came Ash's awkward reply  
Ritchie smiled, "Listen Ash, cuz were friends,  
we should promise each other to make this the best battle that we've ever had!" Ritchie suggested happily,  
His smile made Ash feel a lot better about everything, and even brought a smile to his face,  
"Okay, that's a promise Ritchie" and with that they sealed it with their secret fist shake,  
"I'll see you later at the stadium" Ritchie said, "Okay, bye"  
Ash just watched him leave, he knew the next time he saw Ritchie would be one of the hardest battles of his life.  
"Oh Ash!" Nurse Joy called, "I think your very lucky to be battling a friend"  
Ash felt his insides burn, how could she know how it feels to be battling Ritchie, she doesn't know..  
"Because even if you lose, your can still be happy for him because he won" continued Joy.  
After that comment, the burning feeling Ash was having suddenly disappeared,  
She was right! Even if he didn't make it through, at least Ritchie had a chance at winning!  
That seemed to make everything feel a lot better.  
"Thanks Nurse Joy! Your right!" Smiled Ash.

Hours had passed and Ash had gone through quite a problem,  
He had been kidnapped by Team Rocket and was only minutes away from being disqualified,  
Ash was riding his bike through the streets as fast as he could,  
The only thing going through his mind was  
"I promised Ritchie, I promised Ritchie", If he did not make it in time, he could never forgive himself.  
He could see the stadium in sight, it surged him with adrenaline,  
He knew he could make it.  
As he got to the doors he burst through them, flying through the halls, he was seconds away from the stadium.  
Ash burst through the doors of the stadium, the first thing he saw made his heart drop,  
Ritchie was talking to the referee, the match was over, he was forced to disqualify.  
He had broken his promise to Ritchie,  
He then had a double look and saw Ritchie was arguing back, Ash had to try,  
"Ritchie!" Ash yelled flying into the stadium, "Sorry i'm late!"  
"You made it!" Called back Ritchie. Those three words made Ash's heart soar,  
Ritchie was happy to see him, and he did not break his promise to Ritchie  
"Lets start the battle" Ash said.

It was intense, Ash had sent out Squirtle and Pikachu, both who were unable to win for Ash.  
While Ritchie sent out Happy and Zippo, those two were unable to win for Ritchie either.  
It was down to the last Pokemon each, Ritchie had sent out Sparky, and Ash didn't know if he could defeat Ritchie,  
He was torn. He came here to win, but now that he was so close to Ritchie, he found it hard to call out his Pokemon.  
He saw only one way to solve his internal problem. He sent out Charizard.  
A decision Misty and Brock did not understand, as Charizard did not listen to Ash.  
But it was perfect for Ash, Charizard had the fire power to win it for him, but if he did not listen, then Ritchie would win.  
Ash did not have to make the call to hurt his friend, he could let Charizard decide.

In a matter of moments it had all gone from promising, to the end. Charizard decided to take a nap during the battle.  
"Charizard refuses to battle, the winner is Sparky and Ritchie!" The Referee called.  
Ash fell to his knees. He had lost. All because of Charizard he would be going home.  
"Ash..?" Came Ritchie's quite voice  
Ash tried to wipe the tears from his eyes, he could not break down here, not in front of Ritchie,  
He had to remember Ritchie won, Ritchie could be happy, so he should be happy for him,  
"I guess you won!" Ash tried to sound happy for him,  
"Guess so.." Muttered Ritchie,  
"Congratulations Ritchie" Said Ash, as he held out his hand for him. Ritchie shook it.  
Ash felt the spark from the first day they met flow through his hand, it warmed him inside.

So he left Ritchie to the cameras, he didn't want to spoil it for him, plus he needed some time to think about some things.

**Well there we go, chapter 5. I hope I've still got some of you tagging along! I promise you, from here on out it will pretty much be all story now, pretty much no episode stuff. Only good stuff coming i swear! Like always, feel free to message me any comments, ideas, characters you like to see or improvements at fanfictionstories at live . com or on here :) thanks! Have a great day!**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Alright I believe I should warn you it does get kinda dark in this one, but it changes things up, okay. So stick with me! thanks **_**_a_**_ **a**_** _lot!_**

Ash's Secret Love Affair

Chapter Six

Ash didn't know what to do, he had lost.  
He didn't know what to feel, he knew he should feel happy for Ritchie,  
But he had to admit it to himself, he felt hurt. He couldn't shake it.  
Last time he felt this way, he tried to walk it off and look where it got him,  
Cornered by three older guys who could have hurt him.  
The thought makes him want to throw up.  
So no, a walk did not seem like a good idea.  
He decided just to stay in his room, he wanted to sleep,  
When he slept he dreamt,  
That was a way he discovered for him to escape the pains of the real world.  
So that's what he did. he spent the whole day laying on his bed,  
He did not want to get up, he did not want to see anyone.  
All he could think about was how he had lost,  
Charizard had embarrassed him in front of Ritchie.  
That's what hurt the most, that he knew Ritchie thinks less of him as a trainer,  
"He must think i'm a total loser" Ash muttered to himself,  
He hadn't eaten all day, he had no appetite to eat.  
Brock and Misty had tried to get him out of bed, but he didn't budge for them,  
They didn't understand how much it hurt, they don't know how it feels,

"Ash?" Came his mothers sweet, calming voice,  
"Honey it's alright, you did so well, let's go have some dinner, just you and me okay?"  
Ash thought that sounded nice, some time alone with his mother might make him feel good again  
"Okay, just you and me right?" Ash answered.

Deliah took Ash too a lovely restaurant, it was lunch time,  
Which means Ash slept through an entire day and a half,  
He felt pretty guilty about it.  
So he decided to try to smile for his mother, he knew she worried about him.  
They had their meals, and laughed about small things. Ash was starting to feel better again,  
His mother could always do that to him. It was like she was his special superhero.

Ash decided he wanted to show her the park where he spent so much of his time in this trip,  
He lead her through the trees and into the field,  
"It's lovely Ash!" She gasped,  
Ash smiled, he loved it when she was happy, when she was happy he knew everything would be alright,  
Ash began to realise this was the park Ritchie brought him too after he was grabbed by those boys,  
It made him queazy to think about it,  
"Ash? Are you alright?" Asked his mother, feeling very concerned  
"Uh yeah i'm okay, I just need to sit down, feeling a little dizzy" He lied  
She sat him down on the park bench and held him close to her,  
It was times like these that made him want to be back in Pallet Town.

A rustle in the bushes drew Ash's attention, and two baby Nidorans ran out and were playing with each other,  
"Look mum" Ash laughed as he pointed them out to her, she smiled,  
They continued to sit like that watching the Nindorans for some time,  
Until Ritchie came walking through the clearing, and Ash's heart stopped,  
This is the last thing he needed,  
Ritchie looked over and saw them, and he stopped where he was.  
Ash didn't know what to do, he couldn't face Ritchie in the state he was in, let alone with his mother with him,  
Ritchie just stood there, looking awkward,  
"Hey honey, I have to go do some things with Professor Oak, I'll leave you two alone, I love you honey" Deliah whispered to Ash's ear  
Ash just watched her go, until she was out of his sight, then he looked back at Ritchie,  
He still had not moved from where he was standing,  
Ash patted the seat next to him where his mother was moments ago.  
Ritchie smiled and walked over and sat next to him, not quite sure of what to say.

"How are you?" He asked, Ash didn't know what to say to that.  
That he is miserable he lost the competition? That he is so embarrassed he had to lose the way he did?  
That he is so messed up inside he doesn't know what is going on with him and Ritchie..  
"Uh.. I'm fine, Ritchie" Ash gave him a small smile.  
"Look Ash" Ritchie said turning to him, and grabbing his hand,  
"Come with me" He said pulling Ash to his feet and out of the field, into and through the busy marketplace,  
"Ritchie where are you taking me?" Asked Ash,  
"Shh! Just wait and see!" Exclaimed Ritchie, he kept his tight hold on Ash's hand, for fear he may let go.  
Ritchie took him to, and around the stadium, down the pathways and through some fields,

Some time later Ash and Ritchie walked out into a beautiful field, filled with lush trees, and green grass.  
He found it hard to take in the beauty of the area.  
"Ritchie" Said Ash, turning to the grinning boy, "This is beautiful and all, but why did you bring me here?"  
Ritchie's smile faded slightly, "You don't remember do you?"  
Ash felt his face go red, he looked around, trying so hard to remember, desperate as to remember what this place is,  
And why it meant something to Ritchie,  
After a couple of minutes he gave up, he felt a wave of embarrassment hit him, he couldn't look Ritchie in the eyes.  
"I'm so sorry Ritchie, I don't remember this place.. Please tell me what it is.." Asked Ash, looking up into the boy's eyes,  
Ritchie just let out a small giggle, trying hard to conceal it from Ash,  
"It's the field were we landed after we rescued Pikachu! Remember silly!" He yelled laughing out loud,  
Ash felt his cheeks go red again, but had a look around for the second time,  
He saw the place where he collapsed into Ritchies arms, where he lost control of himself.  
He never saw the beauty in the place the first time.  
The entire time it took Ash to take all this realisation in, Ritchie studied him, with that same grin on his face.  
He grabbed Ash's hand and pulled him out into the field,  
Ash was beginning to get used to Ritchie grabbing his hand, he found he liked it.  
"I thought we could hang out here today, just you and me" Said Ritchie, to which made Ash catch one of Ritchie's smiles,  
"Considering I am leaving tomorrow.." Ritchie continued and trailed off.  
He saw the smile leave Ash's face, and pulled him into a hug.  
"Don't be sad, we have all day together to have loads of fun!" He exclaimed,  
It was true, so Ash tried to forget about everything else, it was just him and Ritchie, together all day.

The two boys soon found themselves wondering the fields, it was larger then they had thought,  
They found a lake and took turn skipping stones across it.  
They watched a group of Pidgey flutter around their mother Pidgeotto.  
And they raced each other across the fields, pushing and shoving to beat each other to the edge,  
Ritchie tripped over a root sticking out of the group and fell onto Ash,  
Causing them both to tumble down the side of the hill, laughing all the way,  
Til they came to a gentle stop at the bottom of the hill. Their laughter fading away.  
Ritchie ended up on top of Ash, with Ash being pinned underneath him,  
Their breathing returned to normal and they found themselves staring into each others eyes once again.  
Ash forgot how lost he got in his eyes, how deep he found those crystal blue eyes to be,  
"Now you know what it's like, being pinned down like I was in the elevator by you" Ritchie said,  
Which caused them both to burst into laughter once again.  
Ash found himself unable to stop laughing and thought, this, this is the best day, I have ever had.  
He didn't even notice until he felt Ritchie's lips on his,  
In that moment, the world, everything ceased to matter,  
The wind had calmed to a mere stop,  
The Pidgeys had slowed down so much Ash could swear, he could hear each movement of their wings,  
Everything was perfect.  
In that moment, he realised, he was so very in love with Ritchie.

Ritchie's lips were perfect, the way they were so soft, yet so firm with him  
How they fit so perfectly against his. He couldn't think of a more perfect moment.  
As they parted lips, he looked up at Ritchie, the sun, outlining his perfect shape,  
The wind tousling his hair, just so slightly.  
He reached up and ran his fingers through Ritchie's hair, it was so soft.  
Ash pulled Ritchie down on top of him, and wrapped his arms around him,  
He never wanted this moment to end, he thought,  
If he held Ritchie tight enough, he could stay like this, forever.

They did stay like that for a very long time,  
Just laying next to each other, Ritchie's head resting on Ash's chest.  
Not making a sound, both fearing it would ruin the moment, and shatter whatever this was.

Of course they had to return to reality at some point, and Ritchie pointed out the time,  
Saying they should get back to the stadium.  
Ash was so love drunk, he couldn't help agree with anything Ritchie said,  
So they walked through the paddock, hand in hand,  
Leaving their perfect place behind.

It took them a while to get back to the stadium, stopping once or twice, for their own reasons.

Once they eventually got back to the stadium Ritchie wanted to sit inside, one more time.  
It did not even occur to Ash it may be one of the last moments he had with Ritchie.  
So they sat together for a while, seemingly coming off their highs.  
It was at this point when the questions started returning to Ash,  
What the hell just happened back there?  
This question, he had to have an answer too.  
"Ritchie.."  
"Yeah Ash?" Asked Ritchie,  
"What happened back there? In the field?" Asked Ash carefully, in case he risk ruining what ever it was.  
Ritchie looked forward, thinking, he didn't know how to respond to that,  
Ash saw the look, he started to get nervous, he didn't like getting nervous,  
It always ended in him breaking down.  
Ritchie looked at Ash with a look he will never forget, it was almost, fear.  
"Ash, look I don't know what that was, okay. Your like my best friend, and i'm not sure if that was a in the moment thing,  
Or if it maybe meant something else, I have no idea" Replied Ritchie,  
Looking almost as if he was going to be the one to cry,  
Ash could not believe what he was hearing, he,  
Only just coming to the conclusion that he was in love with Ritchie hours ago,  
Was now telling him he didn't know what it was. He started to feel cold,  
He knew what followed after that,  
"Ritchie, please, just look at me, we can talk about it. Okay, Ritchie look at me" Ash panicked,  
Ritchie wouldn't look at him.  
"Ash.. I.." Ritchie tried to mutter out. Ash knew there was something he wasn't telling him.  
"R-Ritchie, what's going on?" Asked Ash.

The next moment Ash would never remember clearly.  
It's the moment he felt his whole world being ripped apart,  
As if his soul had been ripped from his chest, and crushed into dust right in front of his face.  
His body went ice cold, his hands, numb.  
He tried to stand but couldn't find his feet, so he sat there,  
Feeling everything crashing down inside of him,  
Not even able to muster a tear to cry.

"Ash, I'm so sorry, I should have told you sooner! It's just that I was confused,  
And didn't know what was going on with us, and she told me herself it was over"  
Ritchie tried to stammer out excuses,  
"I love you."  
Ash felt every single fibre of his being shatter into tiny pieces when Ritchie muttered those three words.  
He eventually found his feet, and rose slowly, unless risk collapsing on to Ritchie,  
Which would be the worst thing to happen.  
Ritchie reached out to grasp Ash, to console him,  
But to Ash, it was far beyond that point now.  
He walked, not bringing himself to look back, even if he wanted to, he doubted he could.

So he left the stadium, left Ritchie behind, left his soul behind too,  
Ash was a boy without love.  
He could not think, or even decide where he was going, he was just walking.  
Once again found himself somewhere he did not know, only that his feet were blistered and sore.  
He reached out, and felt something beneath his fingers, it was a wall.  
A wall would not collapse in on him, it allowed Ash to collapse onto it, and sit there,  
And let the tears finally fall.

Hours had past and Ash still remained against the wall,  
He had no concept of time, only that is was very late.  
That's when he heard them, familiar voices that rang danger in his ears.  
"Hey Mark, that's Ash! Over there!" One of them gasped.

The one known as Mark reached down to Ash's level,  
"Ash, are you okay?" Ash recognised it as the 'leader boy' Ritchie had beat up for him,  
Oh god, the thought of Ritchie caused Ash to shake violently.  
"He's in terrible shape, guys we need to get him somewhere warm" Said Mark.  
"I got you Ash" He said as he lifted him from the ground and cradled him in his arms.  
Ash didn't know where they were going, or who else was with Mark. He just felt safe in some ones arms.

When Ash opened his eyes, everything was still foggy. But he was in a home, on a comfortable couch.  
He looked up and Mark was standing in front of him,  
"He's awake guys, shh.. Hey buddy. How you feeling, we found you in pretty bad shape,  
So we brought you back to our place." It barely registered in Ash's brain, but he nodded his head anyway.  
"Okay good, look you look pretty bad man, here drink this, it'll warm you up" Mark said as he handed Ash a cup full of a dark liquid.  
Ash just looked at the cup, then back up to Mark,  
"Hey it's not going to hurt you man, here i'll show you!" Mark took the cup and took a sip for himself,  
"See, i'm fine!" Exclaimed Mark.  
Seeing the older boy drink the liquid made Ash realise just how thirsty he was,  
So he took a large mouthful of the liquid.  
It burnt his throat, and made him gag, but Mark didn't lie,  
It did make him feel warmer and a little bit better.

Ash set down the mug and looked around,  
Instantly he noticed Mark, and the two boys that followed him the other night,  
He knew he should be worried but found himself quite relaxed.  
He also noticed two other boys he didn't recognise,  
"Oh don't worry Ash, these are just some of my friends" said Mark, with a smile on his face.  
Ash nodded and reached for his mug and took another swig. This time he felt different from the first mouthful.  
The room started to spin slightly, it made him dizzy.  
He knew he had to leave, he started to feel scared but when he tried to get up, he nearly collapsed onto the table in front of him,  
Mark held him up though, and even though he wanted to get away from him, his arms wouldn't move.  
"Heyy, Ash calm down, your a bit upset I know. Come with me, i'll take care of you" Mark said  
Ash then felt everything go upside down as Mark lifted him up onto his shoulders and carried out to wherever they were going.  
While they walked in silence, Ash hoped and prayed Mark was taking him home, back to his cabin,  
Returning him to Misty and Brock.  
When Mark finally put Ash down he felt the cool grass beneath him,  
He knew Mark wasn't taking him home.  
He tried so hard, he could not get up.  
"Hey, hey Ash, calm down. It's alright, I told you i'm going to look after you" Mark whispered in his ear.

The next moments of Ash's life he will never forget,  
The pain he felt.  
The helplessness.  
It was terrifying being so small and not being able to stop him.

When Mark bit into Ash's neck, he wanted to cry out, but nothing came out.  
It ripped at his skin as Mark tore off his clothes,  
He could not understand what was happening, or why Mark was doing this to him.  
He tried to talk, to beg Mark to take him home, but nothing came out.  
Ash hated the boys hands on his skin, they felt like acid.  
He had never known a feeling like this,  
To be so small, and feel so insignificant,  
Yet he still had the worst coming.  
He wanted to get up and crawl away when Mark flipped him over onto his stomach.  
But his legs wouldn't move.  
That's when he felt it, he thought Mark was stabbing him with a searing rod.  
The pain was unlike any Ash had felt.  
He asked himself what he did to deserve this.  
He begged for Mark to kill him, to end this pain he was experiencing  
It probably didn't sound too much like words,  
Mark slammed Ash's back into the earth  
Ash was seeing red,  
He managed to look up at Mark,  
All he could see was a monster.  
That's all Ash felt before he blacked out.

Ash's eyes opened slightly, and he saw a blur of someone standing over him,  
He was sure it was Mark, and the pain would continue.  
But no pain came,  
Just gentle hands, hands of someone he knows, and trusts.  
But Ash couldn't make out the blur of who was carrying him,  
He gave up and blacked out once more.

**Alright! That was probably the most emotionally draining piece i've ever written! But I feel quite proud of it all the same, I know it's fairly dark, but hey. When is life fair honestly. Well anyway let me know what you guys think of this chapter! I'm really keen to hear what you think, any comments or such just review it or email them to me at fanfictionstories at live . com thanks! and have a great day! :)**


	7. Story Update

**Hey guys!  
**

**I am really enjoying writing this story. It's my first story I have ever written  
and my imagination is going crazy! I just have a couple of questions I wanted  
to put to you guys before continuing. If you guys are authors yourselves, you  
understand how much you put your heart and soul into each chapter, all  
I want to know is if people are enjoying the story? I know the site lets you  
know people are reading it, but i'm curious to know what people are  
thinking while reading it. As in, while i've had over a hundred views  
on the first chapter, there is no reviews. So i'm not sure if the readers  
find the story going in a good direction.  
So all i'm asking is if anyone could review my story. Like I said, I  
have put my heart and soul into it, and want to know if it has been worth  
the time and effort I put into it.**

Thanks guys for taking the time to read this :) 

**Have a great day.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hi guys! So i'm sorry i haven't posted anything recently, i've just had problems with internet and stuffs.  
****But i'm back and will be trying to post as much as I can, I have just lacked inspiration after that last chapter,  
****Phew, it was hard. Anyway. I felt sort of bad I hadn't posted, so I wrote a large chapter for you!  
Think I should let you know though, it gets slightly "adult rated" in this one ha.  
So like enjoy? Ha ha. **

Ash's Secret Love Affair

Chapter Seven

Everything was fuzzy when Ash's eyes fluttered open.  
He didn't know where he was, or why he was here.  
Everything was just white.  
He felt around himself, his hands feeling out the smooth sheets he was laying on.  
He was on a bed, that's all he knew.  
But he wasn't sure where he was exactly.  
It did cross his mind maybe he was dead, that maybe Mark had done what he asked,  
Killed him and ended his pain.  
Then he remembered, he remembered everything, his body began to shake,  
The memories of that night flooded through his head,  
How he was held down against his will, repeatedly slammed against that cold, muddy ground.  
He began to shake, to beat his fists against the sheets,  
_Why did Mark do that, why did he want to hurt him?_  
He couldn't help himself, the tears started flowing.  
He then felt the aches and pains his body was feeling.  
Every bruise, every cut and every muscle felt like it was on fire.  
Ash felt weak, all he could do was cry.

He didn't know how long he sat there, hours could have passed, or even minutes,  
Ash wasn't sure.  
His eyes were red and sore, he had no more tears to cry.  
So he just laid there in his bed, staring at the ceiling.  
He couldn't figure out what made him go with the boys, he knew they were trouble,  
Yet he still went with them. When did he become so stupid.

Hours had past, it was well past midnight, Ash could not sleep, as much as he wanted to.  
He had studied his surroundings for quite a while. There was not much to look at,  
There was a wardrobe, a bed side table, a lamp, a window, a bed and himself.  
Ash was just glad there was not a mirror in the room, as he knew he would not be a pretty sight right now.  
So he had nothing to stop him remembering that night once again, as much as he hated the memories,  
He let them flood through his mind. The helplessness he felt laying there,  
Unable to stop him, the way Mark was able to control him so easily.  
He remembered the feeling of the dirt ripping at his skin,  
The pain he felt as Mark pushed inside of him, every time. It burnt him.  
He remembered each thrust, how he told himself that it would be over soon, but it never ended.  
The worst part was the fact that something, somewhere deep inside of him,  
Had sort of felt, good.  
It disgusted him.  
He felt pathetic.

Ash soon drifted off into a dreamless sleep. It's all he needed right now,  
Was to sleep without the memories entering his dream world too.

"ASH!" Screamed a girl from across the room.  
Ash had been awake for nearly an hour now, he had only slept for a brief amount of time.  
He had woken to the sight of the sun rising through his window, it kept his mind off darker thoughts,  
For a time. But he couldn't help thinking about it, about how stupid he is.  
But the screaming girl snapped his attention from his self pity. It was Misty.  
Ash had never felt so happy to see her, she brought in a ray of sunshine that lifted his spirits.  
She rushed over, just barely stopping herself from leaping onto him when she remembered his bruises.  
It didn't stop her from pulling him into a crushing hug.  
Her warmth began radiating into him, it soothed his aches, and dulled his pains.  
For a moment, he felt overcome with joy.  
He reached around her and held her tight to him, for fear her warmth would get away.  
Misty was the one to let go first.

"Ash, I can't believe your awake! You had me so scared! I didn't think you would ever wake up" She told him,  
"Well how long was I asleep?" He asked  
"Uh, only a day or so, but you still had me so scared!" Misty exclaimed.  
"I know and I'm so sorry Misty.." Ash trailed off looking down, he couldn't bring himself to look at her.  
Misty studied Ash for a moment, this was not the Ash she knew, this was a scared little boy.  
She didn't know what happened to him, but she knew it was something terrible.  
"Ash, don't be sorry. It is not your fault, whatever happened to you was clearly not your fault" She told him soothingly  
_She__ doesn't know what happened!_ Ash thought, he was shocked, he was sure everyone would have known._  
_He opened his mouth to say something, he felt guilty. He caused her all this worry, he knew it wasn't fair if she didn't know why  
But he found nothing came out of his mouth, as much as he tried, he could not put words together,  
He began to shake, he tried so hard but the thought of what she would think once he told her, kept him from telling her.  
Ash started to shake harder, tear drops fell from his closed eyes onto the sheets.  
He wasn't aware how hard he had clenched his hands together, not until Misty had rested her hands upon his.  
That little motion soothed Ash's shakes and tears. Once he felt her warmth once again.  
"It's okay Ash, you don't have to tell me. I understand." She whispered soothingly.

They spent the next few hours together, Misty trying to cheer Ash up. Which worked mostly,  
Ash laughed and smiled, and he felt good to be with her.  
But he still felt dark inside.  
They joked of old times, and smiled over their adventures together,  
They had come along way together and Ash realised how much she meant to him.  
"Hey Mist, are you the only one who knows I am here? Has anyone else been to visit me?" Ash asked  
"Oh! Of course Ash! Everyone was here yesterday! Like Me, Brock, Professor Oak, your mum, Pikachu.."  
Ash listened to the list of names, feeling grateful they all came to see him, but he was listening for one name in particular.  
But she never said his name.  
"... and Tracy. But no one has stayed the longest as Gary. Which I thought was a bit weird, but I guess he did find you and everything,  
I guess he just wants to make sure your okay" Misty smiled.  
"Wait, Gary? He's the one who found me?" Ash asked, fairly shocked.  
"Well yeah, the Nurse said she saw him carry you in at like 2am in the morning in the soaking rain,  
You were in his arms, and well, you only had his jacket covering your body.." Misty said, looking over him,  
It was only now Ash came to the realisation he was laying naked, in his bed, with Misty sitting next to him.  
Lucky for him he had his sheets on. But the embarrassment still clearly showed on his face.  
He felt mortified, that everyone had been to visit him, and he had no clothes on.  
But he tried to ignore that for the moment,  
"So Gary.. found me? And brought me in?" Asked Ash, feeling a bit confused  
"Yes Ash. And he hasn't left your room since you got here, didn't you see him? He has been sleeping on your couch" Misty gestured to the couch,  
Ash looked over to the couch, and sure enough was Gary, deep asleep wrapped up in a blanket.  
_Why Gary would go out in the cold rain and bring him all the way to the hospital?_  
Gary was always so mean to him. But here he was, on that couch like Misty said,  
Ash couldn't help tearing up.  
"Anyway Ash I have to get going. I was supposed to do some things with your mum today. I'll tell her your awake,  
She will probably want to see you. She's been worried sick, but remember, it's not your fault." Said Misty  
For the second time that morning, Misty reached over and hugged Ash. She had never been like this with him,  
_I guess she really was worried about me._  
_  
_Ash spent the next hour or two thinking things over. He wasn't sure what to do next.  
He felt so confused inside. He didn't know where to go.  
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Gary shuffling around,  
_Oh god he's waking up, what do I say, he saw me naked, but he saved me. What do i say?!  
_Ash was feeling a bit awkward to say the least.  
He watched the boy turn a couple more times until he watched his eyelids open slowly.  
It took him a few minutes to awake properly, and to register Ash was awake and watching him.  
"A-Ash! Your awake! Uh hey" Gary said sleepily,  
Ash smiled and laughed quietly  
"Hey Gary, um Misty said you uh.. found me the other day? Uh thanks.." Ash said, blushing pretty hard.  
"Oh yeah, no worries man. I barely knew it was you until I wiped the mud from your face.  
You were messed up something bad hey..?" Asked Gary  
"I mean I tried to wake you, and you said something I couldn't even understand, you weren't making any sense at all.  
I didn't know what to do, I just had to get you to the hospital man, I mean you were ice cold and well, naked." Gary said, this time blushing.  
Ash tried to cover up a bit more under the sheets, feeling a bit more self conscious now.  
"Yeah.. Well thanks a lot Gary. But how did you find me, it was so late and it was raining..?" Ash asked  
"Oh well, I'm up a lot around that time anyway, and I guess I enjoy the rain,  
So I was taking a walk through it and well saw you I guess" Gary replied  
Both boys fell slowly silent, Gary sitting up on the couch, and Ash sitting upright on his bed.  
It was a long silence, and Gary began to actually notice Ash's cuts and bruises through the morning sunlight.  
They were pretty bad. Ash's arms were bandaged up a lot due to mud being rubbed against his cuts.  
His normally tan cheeks were slightly bruised and swollen. He barely looked like the Ash he knew.

The entire time Gary was studying him, Ash was in his own day dream, looking out the window,  
It took him a while to realise Gary was indeed watching him, causing him to blush at the boy.  
"Gary, look thank you so much for saving me, if you hadn't had found me, I would have probably be dead" said Ash, looking directly at Gary  
Gary just looked at Ash, he knew something was different with the boy he grew up with.  
"Ash it's fine really" Gary said smiling at him.  
Ash smiled back, he felt better, and eventually drifted off into a light sleep.

The next few days Ash recovered physically from his injuries slowly,  
He had countless visitors, Gary eventually went back to his cabin to get a proper sleep. The nurses insisted it.  
Some days Misty and Brock would visit and play cards with him, they were always fun.  
Tracy and Professor Oak also came by once and brought Pikachu, that made Ash's life light up, seeing his best friend.  
His mum also visited him every day, as happy as she was, Ash could see in her eyes how worried she had been.  
And it crushed him.  
All these visitors were great, the kept him from his thoughts, from thinking too much on thoughts he shouldn't,  
But of course he couldn't keep them out all the time.  
His dreams were the worst, the memories turned into nightmares, causing him to not get much sleep at all each night,  
To which he would spend the remainder of the night thinking of the one person who hadn't been to visit him,  
Ritchie.

It took Ash a few days to remember how he ended up at Mark's cabin,  
He eventually pieced together most of what had happened with Ritchie that morning.  
He remembered the fields where he ran with Ritchie,  
Where they tumbled together,  
And had their first kiss. That kiss that set his existence on fire, that made everything right.  
He remembered that moment clearly.  
What he struggled to remember was when he left the stadium,  
He remembered what happened between him and Ritchie,  
How could he forget. But the specifics seemed to elude his memory,  
Still, what he remembered was enough to give him breakdowns each night,  
He spent them curled up with his legs drawn up into his chest. Sobbing into his pillow.  
He dreamt of Ritchie too, and that those precious moments they spent together in the field.  
Dreaming of Ritchie was like being stabbed repeatedly each night for Ash.  
Still he couldn't bring himself to stop thinking about him.

Five days after Ash awoke saw him walking out of the hospital, with his mother helping him,  
Friends and family in tow.  
Ash had never felt happier to walk out of somewhere.  
They had all his things packed for him, and all headed back to Pallet Town.

When they pulled up to the house, Ash looked upon his family home.  
He was home, he was safe.  
He walked in, placing his coat on the rack, his mother always liked it when people did that.  
It smelt like home to him, he was safe.  
He put his things away in his cupboards, and collapsed onto his childhood bed.  
It felt good to be on a familiar bed, with his sheets again.  
He soon drifted off without realising, into a happy, dreamless sleep,  
He was home, and he was safe.

The next few days Ash found difficult.  
He didn't know what he was going to do next,  
He didn't have a plan.  
It was easier to stay in his bedroom, away from from everyone.  
The small room kept him safe.  
He knew no one could hurt him if he was in his room.  
He spent the next couple of days, laying in bed and watching his match with Ritchie playing over and over his dvd player.  
Ash felt pathetic, like a failure.  
_No wonder Ritchie didn't want to be with me, i'm such a loser_  
He would sit on his bed all day, only coming out for breakfast and dinner,  
Pikachu tried to get Ash to come out and play, but found it impossible, so he remained by Ash's side each day,  
Pikachu didn't understand why his friend was so miserable. He watched him re watch their match with Ritchie over and over again,  
He felt guilty, like it was his fault, and Ash could see how bad Pikachu felt,  
He found he couldn't bring himself to take his little friend outside for some sunlight, which both of them sorely needed.  
All Ash could think about was that day with Ritchie, how perfect everything had seemed.  
Until it all smashed into tiny pieces at his feet,  
Of course his mother tried talking to him at dinner, she was worried about her son,  
But no matter what she said Ash knew she wouldn't understand, no one would.

This circle of self pity went on for a few more days,  
With his friends and family coming and going,  
But he wouldn't see any of them.  
He knew they wanted him to be happy, but why should he feel good.  
_He was pathetic, he couldn't have Ritchie, and he was only happy when he was with Ritchie.  
_  
"Hello Mrs Ketchum, is Ash still in his room today?" Came a very familiar voice down the hall from Ash's room.  
"Oh hello Gary, yes he is. I am really worried about him, no one can get him to come out of his room,  
The only time he does is to eat dinner, and I can't get five words out of him" Replied Deliah sadly  
"Mmm I'm sure whatever Ash went through really scared him, this is just him trying to recover i'd imagine" said Gary,  
Ash crept out of his room, did Gary really want to see him?  
"Um, hi Gary" Ash said quietly from the corner of the room,  
Both Gary and Deliah's head snapped up at the unexpected noise,  
Both were surprised to see Ash standing there,  
"Oh, hi Ash. Um how are you?" asked Gary awkwardly,  
Ash knew he made him feel awkward, he knew he looked terrible,  
Pale, dressed no more then in his dressing robe, and his hair a mess.  
"Uh, yeah i'm okay" replied Ash  
"Yeah. Well I wanted to come by to see how you were, hey Ash. I was thinking of going by Grandpa's.  
Did you want to come? You could see your Pokemon, i'm sure they would love to see you" asked Gary  
Ash hadn't even thought about his Pokemon. They had gone to Professor Oak's as soon as they got back to Pallet Town.  
"Uh yeah, that would be nice. Thanks Gary" Smiled Ash "Let me just go get changed kay?"  
Ash went back to his room to try to fix his hair and put on new clothes, Deliah felt so happy,  
Someone had gotten her little Ash out of his room  
"Thank you Gary" She said quietly  
"It's okay Mrs Ketchum, I think it'll be good for Ash to see his Pokemon, I just want him to feel better" replied Gary.  
Ash walked out, wearing his black shirt with his favourate blue jeans.  
"Ready to go Gary?" Smiled Ash

As they walked in silence, Ash couldn't help thinking how nice Gary had been to him,  
First finding him the other day, now taking him to see his Pokemon.  
He was a really nice guy, Ash was glad to have him as his friend.  
"It's really good to see you again Ash. I'm glad you decided to come with me" smiled Gary  
"Oh yeah, it does feel good to be out of my room I guess" replied Ash, kicking a small stone with his foot  
They continued the rest of the walk with occasional small talk, but most in silence,  
But it wasn't an awkward silence, it was just two friends enjoying each other's company.

They spent a couple of hours at Professor Oak's Laboratory, Ash's Pokemon were all excited to see him,  
So he gave them all equal attention, he loved them all.  
Gary watched Ash play with his Pokemon, this was the Ash he knew,  
Playful, energetic and full of life. He didn't like the dark, sad Ash he was becoming when he was alone.  
He would do anything to make Ash like he used to be.

"Okay thanks Professor, i'll be sure to come by more often" promised Ash, as they made their way out of the laboratory.  
"Well that was fun, what now" said Gary, almost as in talking to himself,  
"Gary, thank you for that. I forgot about my Pokemon, and that is something I should never have done,  
So thanks" Said Ash as he pulled Gary into a hug, it felt good to have some sort of physical contact again,  
"Oh, um that's okay Ash, I'm just glad you came out of your room" Gary laughed quietly,  
"Yeah I guess it feels a bit better, I just feel, like safe in my room, I know it sounds weird and all,  
But after everything thats happened, I just like to feel safe" Said Ash seriously.  
Gary had never seen this side of Ash, he always seemed to be the confident one,  
This was a small boy, Gary knew he had to protect him.

"Well, what do we do now?" Asked Ash, not really wanting to go back to his room,  
Gary only just remembering he actually had something planned for that night,  
"Oh, right um I actually made plans tonight with some friends" said Gary awkwardly,  
Gary could see the disappointment go across Ash's face, he felt guilty, inviting him to hang out and all.  
"Hey, you should come along, it's just my friends, they wouldn't care if you came along!" Said Gary excitedly  
Ash looked up at Gary, _did he really want him to come along to hang out with his friends?  
_"Oh uh are you sure that's okay? .. I don't want to intrude" said Ash quietly  
"No! Yeah come! They're pretty nice guys" said Gary, leading the way.

Ash felt comfortable, they were all at Gary's friends house, watching a movie.  
They were all really nice to Ash, and wanted to be his friends.  
There was six of them there, Gary, Ash, Peter, Dylan, Louis, Cam and Laurie.  
Louis has medium short brown hair, and brown eyes, and Ash recognised him as one of the other Pallet trainers,  
Peter had black, short hair with his green eyes.  
Laurie had a sort of dark red hair, that actually looked really good, and made Ash jealous.  
Peter was the tallest, he had brown hair, he made Ash look tiny next to him.  
Whilst Dylan was actually about the same size as Ash, and he found he really got along with Dylan,  
Dylan had long blonde hair which went to his shoulders, a lot like Ash's did when it was wet.  
But Dylan kept his straight always, it looked good Ash thought.

The movie was interesting, in Ash's opinion, it had a lot of action in it.  
Something about a man saving his home town.  
There was a couple scenes where he was kissing a girl, obviously the girl he loved Ash thought,  
And he couldn't help touch his lips, remembering what it was like to kiss Ritchie,  
How he remembered how it felt to connect with someone that meant so much to him.  
The thoughts wouldn't go away, and Ash lost his attention to the movie,  
All he could think about now was Ritchie. He was beginning to feel sad again,  
He was desperate to feel his kiss, his touch,  
It felt wrong to be sitting here, he thought he should be with Ritchie,  
But of course, Ritchie didn't want him.

"Ash, Ash hey, you okay?" Asked Gary, standing in front of him  
In the time Ash had begun to drift into his bad thoughts,  
He didn't realise he in fact, had started sobbing slightly,  
Enough for Gary and the guys to realise, and stop the movie.  
Ash rubbed his eyes quickly, tried to smile at them, assure them it was okay,  
But he still didn't feel okay, he felt bad again.  
"Hey guys he's okay, let's just back up and give him some air" said Gary  
"I think I know what the guy needs" said Peter, and went over and grabbed his bag.  
He pulled out a clear bottle, one Ash didn't recognise.  
"I think he just needs something to calm himself, he looks a little worked up don't you think" smiled Peter  
Ash remembered something very similar about the bottle, it was a lot alike the one Mark had, but this one was clear.  
"Peter, I don't think Ash needs -"  
"No, Gary" said Ash without even thinking,  
"I want it, it'll make me feel better" He continued, surprising himself  
Gary just looked at Ash,  
"You sure about this Ash?" Asked Gary,  
"Well what will it do?" Asked Ash  
"Well it's just relaxing, sometimes we have it and just sit around watching movies" replied Gary  
Okay, it wasn't like what Mark gave him then, well if Gary had it, then it should be okay, shouldn't it?  
"Yeah, yeah I want some" said Ash  
Peter poured everyone a glass, and handed them around.  
"Cheers buddy" he said to Ash.  
Ash just looked at the glass, as if studying it.  
_Did he really want this? Gary wouldn't let it do anything bad to __me, and the other guys seem okay after drinking a little bit.  
_So Ash took a sip, a small one. To test it out.  
It tasted good Ash thought. Nothing bad about it.  
So he took a bigger mouthful, it was in fact quite sweet. Which Ash found he liked,  
The liquid washed through his body, warming his insides slightly, his throat felt better after the sobbing.  
Gary had been watching Ash, to see if he was okay, and Ash just smiled at him as he took another drink.

A few glasses had passed by Ash's lips, and he was beginning to feel great,  
Nothing like last time, this time he could control his body,  
He wanted to move, to jump, to dance.  
So the guys put on some music, and jumped around  
Ash had completely forgotten his problems, he hadn't felt this great in a long time.  
The guys formed a circle and danced around him.  
Dylan pulling Ash from the circle and grabbing his hands and dancing around the room with him.  
Ash hadn't felt this excited in a long time.  
Everything felt better now he thought.

It was fairly late when Ash walked out onto the balcony to get some fresh air,  
Together, the group had finished the entire bottle  
And Ash was feeling on top of the world.  
He felt exhausted after all the jumping around, the fresh air felt good on his body.  
He didn't even hear Dylan walk out on to the balcony with him until he stood beside Ash.  
"You havin' fun Ashy?" Asked Dylan, talking slightly slurred.  
Ash burst into laughter, he thought Dylan was funny.  
Dylan caught the laughter and started up too, they just stood out there laughing for while.  
"Hey Ash.." said Dylan, trying to catch his breath  
"Im real glad Gary brought yuu, your reall cool yuknow?" Said Dylan  
"Heh weell thanks Dylan, I likes you too" replied Ash, blushing from the compliment,  
He turned to face Dylan to give him a smile, suddenly he felt Dylan's face inches from his,  
And seconds later, Dylan's lips were on his. Ash was shocked.  
Moments passed, and Dylan pulled his head back, and looked into Ash's eyes, searching for his reaction.  
Ash looked at Dylan, a few thoughts passed through his head  
But found without realising, his lips had pressed them back onto Dylan's.  
It felt good, it caused him to realise just how much he missed kissing Ritchie,  
Which made his kiss him even harder, he felt something pushing at his lips,  
So he opened them, and felt Dylan's tongue in his mouth,  
He felt hot, so he did the same.

It had become a battle of their tongues,  
Ash wasn't aware how long they were there, arms around each other, kissing each other all over,  
It was Dylan who pulled away, and took Ash's hand in his and gave him a smile,  
He pulled Ash back into the house, and Ash realised everyone was asleep either on the floor or couch,  
Ash giggled at that.  
Dylan led Ash through the house to the back, and opened the door.  
Inside Ash thought was the most amazing room he had ever seen,  
Posters of Pokemon were everywhere, as well as a huge bed in the middle of the room.  
Ash was jealous, he went to turn around to say something.

Before he could get a word out, Dylan had lept onto Ash, smashing his lips back onto Ash's,  
Forcing Ash to land back on the bed, while they began their tongue battle once again.  
Ash felt good, he knew this wasn't Ritchie, yet it still felt alright, it felt good to him.  
They were there for a good while, exploring each others mouths,  
Ash wasn't sure how this sort of thing happened, having only ever kissed Ritchie.  
So Dylan showed him what he was supposed to do,  
He placed his legs around Ash's pelvis,  
Took off his own shirt, showing off his toned body to Ash,  
Ash couldn't believe this boy, his body was amazing, he had a small frame like Ritchie's,  
but his stomach was a lot more toned, Ash couldn't take his eyes off his stomach.  
As if it was sculpted by an artist. Ash was lost in his gaze when he didn't even realise Dylan pulling his shirt off of him,  
It was then when Ash realised what was actually going on, it clicked,  
The same situation he had been in with Mark was going on,  
_Was Dylan about to take advantage of him?!  
_Ash started to panic, he didn't know what to do, he couldn't think straight right now  
If he wanted he could run, he had full control of his body this time,  
But Dylan's placed his hands on Ash's, it calmed him,  
It reassured him Dylan cared about him.  
So Ash let him continue removing his shirt,  
Both boys were now shirtless, and Ash pulled Dylan down on top of him, kissing him as hard as he could,  
He felt incredible having Dylan's bare chest against his, skin on skin contact,  
Ash could feel his pants get tighter around him, he felt incredibly excited.  
But nothing had felt as good until Dylan thrust his hips down onto Ash's pelvis,  
He couldn't help himself, Ash moaned out,  
_Holy shit!  
_Ash just looked at Dylan with his mouth hanging open,  
Dylan was smiling down at him, and thrust again,  
Once again Ash moaned out, this was amazing, he couldn't get enough,  
Ash began pulling Dylan down on top of him, thrusting up at him at the same time.  
The feeling radiating through Ash's pelvis was intense, he had to have more.  
That moment Dylan slid his hand down Ash's jeans, and grasped onto his most private, exceptionally hard area.  
Ash saw stars, the moment Dylan felt him, Ash will never forget,  
He couldn't control himself, he began pushing himself against Dylan's hand,  
Causing Dylan to moan out himself.

To Ash's disappointment Dylan removed his hand, and pushed Ash back onto the pillows,  
Ash watched Dylan move down the bed, Ash was worried Dylan was going to leave now,  
But no, Dylan got half way down and stopped, he looked up at Ash,  
Ash realised just how sexy Dylan was.  
He watched as Dylan reached for his jean buttons and began undoing them,  
He unzipped Ash slowly, he knew what to do.  
Ash's jeans soon found their way to the floor, and Ash was left laying on the bed,  
Wearing only his black shirt and tented white briefs.  
Dylan didn't waste any time, he began massaging Ash through his briefs, causing Ash to moan out even louder.  
Ash was glad everyone was asleep or they surely would have heard them.  
He looked down at Dylan, with a look of pure lust,  
Dylan couldn't deny him any longer,  
He began pulling down Ash's briefs, removing them completely.  
There stood Ash's five inch member, hard as a rock,  
The sight made Dylan drool, it was perfect.  
He then straddled Ash and grasped him once again,  
And began to jerk him off slowly, all Ash could do was roll his head back as waves of pleasure spread through him.  
Dylan remembered when he was in Ash's position, someone rubbing him off for the first time.  
He decided to up the pleasure Ash was getting from him,  
He started really going now, jerking Ash even faster,  
While his other hand explored under Ash's shirt, feeling his erect nipples.  
Ash was in ecstasy, this was heaven, nothing had ever felt this amazing,  
Everything felt tingly all over.  
That's when he felt the warmth spread over his dick,  
His head snapped up and watched his hard dick entering Dylan's warm, wet mouth,  
He cried out, he could have died in this moment and been happy.  
Dylan worked Ash, he used his tongue to circle Ash's head, whilst moving up and down on him,  
He knew Ash wouldn't last for much longer, but he wanted tonight to last.  
So he stopped, and Ash cried out.

"It's okay Ash, we're not finished yet" Said Dylan with a smile,  
He stood up, and began unbuttoning his skinny jeans, and slowly slid them off,  
Ash couldn't believe his eyes, this boy standing in front of him,  
Had just taken off his jeans and revealed he in fact had not been wearing underwear all day.  
The thought made Ash's dick jump.  
Dylan crawled back on top of Ash and pushed him back down,  
He laid himself on top of Ash, and aligned his dick with Ash's, and thrusted.  
His favourate was having two naked, hard dicks smashed together. It caused him to see stars every time.  
He changed it up every so often, going from a slow rub, to hard thrusts against Ash.  
Ash's favourate was when Dylan pulled his lips into his,  
Kissing him hard while their pelvises rubbed against each others.  
They continued on like this for some time, waves of pleasure spilling through them.  
Ash started to breathe faster, he didn't know what has happening to him,  
Whatever it was he wanted it to happen.  
He began to thrust harder, and Dylan knew he wasn't going to last much longer,  
So he pushed down hard against Ash and started licking in and around Ash's ear, nibbling at the ear lobes.  
That was it for Ash, he wrapped his arms around Dylan and screamed out,  
Feeling a warmth splash out of his dick, coating he and Dylan's stomachs.  
He was in heaven, he saw stars. He couldn't do anything but squeeze Dylan into him, and moan out,  
This feeling flooded through him for what felt like an eternity, stopping him from thinking anything logical,  
All he could think about was the feelings he was receiving.

Five minutes passed and Dylan pushed his chest up off Ash's, they had made quite a mess.  
Ash looked down, a saw Dylan had in fact squirted as well.  
"Wow, that.." Ash trailed off, trying to catch his breathe.  
Dylan smiled, and laid down on top of Ash gently,  
They soon drifted off into a peaceful sleep, both completely naked and laying on top of each others sticky mess,  
But neither of them cared, they were too tired and too drunk to notice.

From the lounge room, someone had in fact heard the entire thing,  
Both being turned, and feeling furious.  
One of the boys was not happy with how the night had turned out.

**Well, I told you so! I felt it needed a little dirtiness in it, it was very cutesy,  
****needed something more! Anyway, let me know what you think, if this is going  
****in the right direction for you guys, please just review it. I'd love comments and  
****constructive criticism is good too! Like always, have a great day :)**


	9. Chapter 8

**I am so so sorry I have not posted in a while!  
I was moving and stuff,  
****As well as dealing with some personal things..** **ANYWAY.  
I want to thank the nice messages i've recieved,  
They really help me get motivated to post again. So here we go!**

Ash's Secret Love Affair

Chapter Eight

Everything was a mess, a sticky, stick mess,  
That's the first thing Ash thought when he awoke,  
Along with several rather R rated words that flooded through his skull,  
The pounding in his head was unbearable, along with the sudden urge to be violently sick,  
But he held that back,  
He took a moment to himself, he was quite dizzy you see,  
Took a few more moments to gather his thoughts,  
Where he was,  
How he got here,  
What happened last night,  
And that's when he remembered the events of the night,

Ash glanced over his shoulder and saw the other boy,  
The first thing he noticed was that the boy was, quite naked,  
Ash looked away suddenly in embarrassment, which in turn brought him to the realisation that he,  
Was also, quite naked.  
His hands shot to his crotch, hiding his not so private parts from nobody,  
His face turned vividly red, and he scanned the room quickly, trying to locate his clothes,  
His shirt was above the bed side table,  
His jeans were beside the door,  
As for his underwear, they were in a tangled mess, hiding under the bed,  
Those took a while to find.  
Properly dressed, Ash chanced another glance at the sleeping boy,  
He was sleeping gently, chest rising and falling ever so slowly,  
Occasionally scrunching his nose slightly when he breathed in,  
_He is kinda cute_, Ash thought  
_Oh crap, where's Gary? _Ash wondered suddenly, snapping him from his thoughts.

He made his way, quietly out of the room,  
And walked slowly down the hallway, holding himself up against the wall,  
Not trusting himself, incase he should fall,  
He eventually reached the kitchen, and glanced around the room.

It was simply, trashed.  
The cupboard doors were all hanging open,  
Glasses were scattered everywhere,  
And opened bottles were all over the table,  
_I didn't think we drank that much _Ash pondered slowly,  
He looked further into the lounged and saw all the guys,  
Sleeping in all sorts of awkward places,  
Some of the boys were hanging half off the sofa,  
Some draped across each other,  
Gary was snuggled into the sofa chair Ash had been sitting in last night,  
_He looks so peaceful, so happy there, _Ash considered letting him stay there, in that peaceful sleep he was in,  
But he had not told his mother where he was last night, who knows what she was thinking.  
"Gary, Gary wake up.." Ash whispered quietly,  
He was gently shaking Gary, really trying not to wake the other boys,  
"Gaaary wake up.."  
"Mmm.. Ash.. What is it..?" Gary mumbled, eyes still closed,  
"Gary, um I didn't tell mum where I was, uh last night" Ash replied,  
Gary's eyes shot open, "Shiit.. we didn't.. okay.. we gotta go" Gary said getting up, "Let me just leave a note or somethin for the guys"  
Ash just nodded and watched him gather some things from around the room,  
His phone, wallet and his other possessions,  
As well as scratch down a hastily written note.  
"Shit your mum is gonna kill me" Gary said, pulling Ash from the room

The walk was slow, Ash trailing along beside Gary,  
Ash still felt like he was going to release all of his insides onto the sidewalk,  
And he wasn't sure what to say,  
_Does Gary know what me and Dylan did last night..? Do I even know what happened  
_The walk continued slowly.  
"Soo.. Did you .. like have fun or something last night..?" Gary started awkwardly,  
Ash's cheeks went bright red, he wasn't sure how to respond to that question,  
".. I mean, I probably should have told you the guys would have probably brought some alcohol ..  
but it didn't even cross my mind when I invited you" Gary continued, oblivious to Ash's embarrassment,  
_Oh! He means about the party! .. Not about .. _Ash chuckled quietly  
"Uhh.. yeah it was fun" Ash replied,  
"Okay good, I wasn't sure because.. well like, I thought they pressured you into it or something.." Gary trailed off,  
_He was going to say what happened at the Pokemon League.. I'm glad he didn't  
_"Uh no no really, I did have fun, It made me feel better than I was feeling" Ash replied honestly, trying to reassure Gary,  
Gary looked over to Ash and smiled, "Oh good! Well I know the guys liked hanging out with you.."  
"You and Dylan really got along hey!" Gary continued obliviously,  
"Uh yeh, um yeh he was really cool" Ash muttered, focusing on the small stone he was kicking along,  
Ash had no idea what he thought about Dylan. He was really sweet and nice,  
And he was pretty sure he had fun last night with him,  
But all of this was so new to him, the only other people who had gotten that close to him,  
Either broke him emotionally or physically.  
Was what they did last night okay? Is it wrong he wanted to see Dylan again..?  
"ASH KETCHUM! . !"

"Mum! Again I am sorry! We were at Peter's house watching movies and we all fell asleep.." Ash defended himself,  
In reality, It was not a complete lie.  
"You still should have called me first! I had dinner ready for you for hours! You had me worried sick!" Deliah yelled back,  
"Miss Ketchum, I am sorry, it was all my fault. I told Ash to come, I should have asked you first,  
I just wanted him to hang out with me a little bit longer.." Gary trailed off guiltily,  
Deliah's face softened, a look of understanding crossed her face,  
"Oh, okay well thank you Gary. Ash I left your dinner in the fridge if your hungry,  
I um, need to go do some washing" Deliah muttered, leaving the room.  
Ash watched her leave, a bit confused as to what just happened.  
"Hey Ash, I'm gonna get back to my grandpa's.. Thanks for coming last nig.." Gary stopped mid sentence,  
Cut off by Ash's unexpected hug  
"Thank you Gary, I had a lot of fun" Ash said releasing Gary.  
"Uh.. yeah right. Seeya Ashyboy..!" Gary stuttered, leaving the house.

Ash wasn't sure why he just hugged Gary, maybe it was the fact Gary just saved his ass,  
Or the fact Gary made him feel wanted again.  
He wasn't sure  
All he knew was that he stank, he needed a shower badly.

Warm, that's the way Ash liked his showers.  
He hated it when the water was too hot, it made his skin go all a yucky red colour and burnt him,  
When it was too cold he got goosebumps.  
Warm was perfect.  
The water felt amazing, washing all sweat from his chest, and  
Ash realised, the dried sticky stuff Dylan left on him last night.  
The thought of it made his privates stir,  
Dylan did make him feel good, made him feel amazing.  
The feeling of his mouth around him.. It was incredible.  
He wondered where he learnt all of that..  
He couldn't help it.  
He had gotten hard.

Now what?

Well he stared at it,  
It felt awesome when the running water would hit it directly,  
He grasped it, quite firmly,  
It wasn't like Dylan's touch, but it felt good.  
He felt the entire length, the wetness of it, the smoothness,  
Ash leant against the wall of the shower, he couldn't help himself,  
Replaying the images of last nights event in his head,  
He felt sexy,

"Ash.. Ash honey..?" Deliah muttered, opening the door slightly,  
"MOM!" Ash shouted, pulled from his fantasy, trying desperately trying to cover himself,  
"I'm sorry sweetie! Though I don't know why your embarrassed.. I did wash you til you were 3 remember.."  
"MOM! Get out!" Yelled Ash desperately  
"Okay! Okay.. Well please hurry up, and come downstairs. I need to talk to you sweetie" She giggled, shutting the door,  
Ash sighed, might as well get out now.

10 minutes later Ash made his way downstairs, fidgetting with his oversized white shirt,  
His mother was sitting by their kitchen table patiently.  
"Honey, take a seat, we need to have a talk sweetie" Deliah gestured quietly,  
Ash thought it was a bit strange, but took his seat anyway,  
His mother smiled at him lovingly, trying to find the words to say,  
"Baby, you know I love you right? You're my world, and I don't know what I would do without you.." She said  
"Uuuh yeh? I know that mum" Ash said, feeling very confused,  
"Good, honey I am just feeling a little concerned.. Ever since.. whatever happened at the Pokemon League,  
You've been acting very strange.. It scares me a little bit.. You barely come out of your room, not even to eat..  
Sometimes skipping meals completely, which is not you at all! And like last night, you have never not told me where you were,  
Even on your pokemon journey I knew where you were.." She trailed off,  
Ash began to feel cold, _  
She wants me to tell her about .. that night. No, no I can't. No she will hate me.._  
"Sweetie? It just worries me seeing you like that.."  
"N..No, mum no I can't, you don't understand. I can't tell you.. Or anyone.." Ash stuttered,  
"Ash sweetie, please we need to talk about this.. I don't know what to do, how to help you.." Deliah trailed off helplessly  
"No.. Mum no you will hate me. Everyone would hate m..me.." Ash began sobbing  
"Ash! Don't cry..! Please let me help you.." Deliah cried out, rushing to her baby, and throwing her arms around his small figure,  
"Don't touch me!.." Ash screamed at her touch, pushing her away, and making a run for his room,  
Not even giving her a single glance as he rushed past her, tears streaming down his cheeks.  
"Ash.." Deliah's voice faded away as Ash ran up the stairs

Ash slammed his door shut and collapsed onto his bed,  
The thoughts he had been trying ever so hard to block out began rushing though his mind,  
_You're disgusting. You let him use you. You're nothing. You deserved to die.  
__Richie would never want you, of course he wouldn't. Why would he. Your PATHETIC  
_Ash pulled the closest pillow into his chest, squeezing it as tightly as he could,  
Begging it to soak up the dark thoughts and feelings he was experiencing.  
He was a mess, tears streaming down his face,  
He couldn't even cry out, his throat was totally dry,  
It pained him to even try to cry,  
He just laid there, twisted in his sheets, sobbing uncontrollably,  
Dark thoughts twisting his mind.

He had no concept on how long he had laid there,  
It could have been hours, it could have been minutes.  
Decided it was time to move, he tried to get up,  
It was a struggle, he felt exceedingly weak.  
But he raised himself from his bed,  
Feeling drained he got to his feet and looked around his room,  
Everything was the same as it had always been,  
Yet it was completely different.  
Everything seemed, less colourful to Ash. More dull even.  
He found himself staring into space, it seemed the best thing to do.  
He wasn't thinking much now, his mind had exhausted itself.  
He just stood there, in the centre of the room, staring at his wall.  
As if he had never seen it before.  
Everything seemed as if it had slowed down,  
Looking over to the other wall was his mirror, he could see himself clearly in it.  
_God you look disgusting, why do you even try.  
_It was that voice again, he hated that voice, but he knew it was right,  
He was disgusting.  
Staring at his reflection, he wanted to punch it, it smash it to pieces, but thought better.  
Then his mother would begin asking about that too.  
Then he remembered the conversation with his mother from earlier on,  
How he couldn't bare to have her touch him,  
Her touch sent shivers down his spine,  
It made him feel cold,  
Like it was.. his hands.. touching him,  
Destroying his innocence.  
He had to get out of that room, he couldn't breathe.  
He knew he should feel terrible for what happened,  
But in truth, he didn't,  
He didn't feel.

Hours past, Ash still remained on his bed,  
Curled into the fetal position.  
It was dark outside, a light breeze floated through his window, making him shiver,  
But he didn't want to put on a jacket, he wanted to feel cold.  
_Maybe a walk will clear your head_  
_Yeah. A walk may be nice, moms asleep.. so I should probably sneak out my window..  
_

Ash landed on the wet grass with no problem, he was very fit after all.  
You'd think he would feel guilty for sneaking out, but he didn't  
He didn't even feel.  
Ash began to walk, with only his black shirt and blue jeans on, it was a bit chilly,  
But Ash enjoyed that.  
He walked, and walked the streets, not even knowing where he was heading,  
He just had to walk.

It was well past midnight when Ash came upon an old swing set in a park.  
He sat on the swing, and rocked himself slowly,  
It was relaxing,

"Hey kid, what are you doing over there..?" Came a voice from the darkness,  
Ash snapped his head in the direction of the voice, and noticed a single man standing by the playground gates,  
"Uhrm, noffin. Just sittin I guess" Ash mumbled back,  
"Aha.. Right, you with someone? Your out late dontcha think..?" Stated the older man,  
"I guess.." Ash trailed off, staring the man in the eyes,  
"You sound pretty down kid.. hey look, I don't know your name.  
My name is Richard" Stated the man, coming forward and extending his hand  
"..Ash" he replied, not raising his arm, but keeping his eyes locked on the older man's,  
"Right.. well anyway, like I was saying, you look pretty down. If you want, i've got this,  
I don't know if you know what it is, but I find, it's the best cure for feeling down!" Richard laughed,  
Holding forward a clear bottle  
_It's the same bottle as Peter had last night! _Ash thought to himself  
"You don't have to have any, but the offer.. woah!" exclaimed Richard,  
As Ash finally moved and took the bottle from his hand, and took a large drink.  
"Well, it's good to see movement in that small body!" Laughed Richard,  
"Look, its freezing out here, and as I see it, you got no where to go..  
I've got a lot more of this stuff at my house, if you want.." He trailed off,  
Ash just took his hand and began walking..  
"Let's go mister..?"

**NO! Ash don't go with the strange man! :O  
Silly Ash..  
Well! I do apologise it's not as long as the previous chapters..  
But I wanted to get a new chapter out to you guys!  
I am honestly finding it really hard to do this.. but I love it..  
Oh and If you guys haven't realised,  
the italic sentences are what Ash is thinking..**

**So yeeehh. I really hope you enjoyed it! PLEASE let me know what you think,  
I really appreciate any form of review. Make me feel good ! :)  
As always, have a wonderful day..**


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